Paralympian athlete Oscar Pistorius (L), accused of the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp three years ago, looks on during the hearing in his murder trail at the High Court in Pretoria, on July 6, 2016. Paralympian Oscar Pistorius will learn on July 6 how long he will spend in jail when a judge sentences him for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp three years ago. Pistorius was freed from prison in the South African capital Pretoria last October after serving one year of a five-year term for culpable homicide -- the equivalent of manslaughter. / AFP / POOL / MARCO LONGARI (Photo credit should read MARCO LONGARI/AFP/Getty Images)MARCO LONGARI/Getty Images

Oscar Pistorius Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Murder of Reeva Steenkamp

Rory MarsdenJul 6, 2016

Former Olympian Oscar Pistorius has been sentenced to six years in prison for the 2013 murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, Sky News reported on Wednesday:

Per BBC News, the 29-year-old South African athlete had faced a sentence of 15 years.

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The BBC's Pumza Fihlani reported "looks of confusion" in the court after the sentence was handed down given its relative leniency:

CBS News' Debora Patta relayed that Pistorius could serve two years in prison:

Judge Thokozile Masipa described Pistorius as "a fallen hero who has lost his career" during the sentencing, per BBC News' Lucy Fleming.

Per Claire Phipps in the Guardian, the defence team will not appeal against the sentence. However, the prosecution is expected to appeal, according to Nine News Australia's Tom Steinfort:

Pistorius shot Steenkamp four times through the door of a locked toilet cubicle in February 2013, later claiming he mistook her for an intruder.

A double amputee and multiple Paralympic gold medallist, he was originally sentenced to five years for culpable homicide (the equivalent of manslaughter) by Judge Masipa back in 2014.

However, in December 2015 South Africa's supreme court of appeal upgraded the original conviction to murder and ordered Judge Masipa "to impose a harsher sentence," per the Guardian's Simon Allison.