Pistorius get 5 years for murdering girlfriend

PRETORIA: South African Paralympian star sprinter Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for killing his girlfriend, in the climax of his sensational trial.

The 27-year-old was led straight down to the cells after the sentence was read out by Judge Thokozile Masipa in a final court hearing watched around the world. "Count one, culpable homicide: the sentence imposed is five years," Masipa told Pistorius.

The double amputee known as the "Blade Runner" for his speed on his prosthetic legs, killed 29-year-old Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine´s Day last year.

He was also sentenced to three years, suspended for five years, for accidentally firing a pistol under a table at a restaurant in Johannesburg in January 2013.

Pistorius stood stock-still in the dock as he was sentenced in the Pretoria courtroom, veins bulging in his forehead and his jaw muscles clenched.

Lawyers said however that Pistorius will probably not serve the full term for the offence of culpable homicide, equivalent to manslaughter, and perhaps as little as 10 months.

Pistorius had testified that he shot Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, four times through a locked bathroom door at his upmarket Pretoria home after he mistakenly believed she was an intruder.

Prosecutors had argued that he murdered her in a fit of rage after an argument.

As the court adjourned, Pistorius turned to look at the public gallery, then briefly took the hands of his family members before being led by police down stairs from the dock to the cells.

He was expected to be transferred to the hospital wing of a nearby prison to begin his sentence.

Steenkamp´s family welcomed the sentence, the climax of a trial that began in March in the South African capital but was repeatedly adjourned.

Steenkamp´s ailing father Barry said he was "very glad" the trial was over and a lawyer for the family said the sentence was "welcome".

The Steenkamps´ lawyer Dup de Bruyn told AFP that the sentence will likely be served as two years in prison and three years under house arrest.

A member of Pistorius´s legal team, Roxanne Adams said he would likely serve a "sixth" of the five-year term -- 10 months -- before being transferred to house arrest.