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South African Judge Thokozile Masipa said while reading her verdict in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius on Thursday that defence claims that police contaminated evidence and removed items from the crime scene "paled into insignificance".
Pistorius, the double amputee who became one of the biggest names in athletics, shot dead his model and law graduate girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.
The state has called for a verdict of premeditated murder, which could carry a sentence of 25 years in prison. Pistorius says he shot Steenkamp through a locked toilet door in a tragic accident believing she was an intruder.