Oscar Pistorius Guilty Of Murder

South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeals has found Oscar Pistorius guilty of murder, overturning his previous manslaughter conviction.

Pistorius will have to return to prison after the court found him guilty on Thursday of murdering his girlfriend in 2013.

The decision sets aside a 2014 verdict by a Pretoria court that found Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide.

The verdict that was read by Judge Eric Leach, who was part of a panel of five judges that made the decision, said Judge Thokozile Maspia's judgment against Pistorius was filled with "fundamental errors".

A murder conviction carries a minimum sentence of 15 years in South Africa.

Justice Lorimer Leach of the Supreme Court of Appeal delivered the ruling by the five-judge appeals court in Bloemfontein and said the trial court, the North Gauteng High Court, should impose sentence.

Pistorius killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early morning of Valentine's Day. He insisted he thought she was an intruder behind a door in his home.

The prosecution said Pistorius shot Steenkamp during an argument.

Leach said regardless of who might have behind the door, Pistorius should have known someone could be killed if he fired.

- NZ Herald