PRETORIA, October 21. /TASS/. The High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday sentenced South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius to five years in prison for killing his girlfirend.

Oscar Pistorius was earlier found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Overnight to February 14, 2013, Pistorius shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a closed bathroom door in his own house.

The athlete insisted that he'd committed homicide accidentally, mistaking the girlfriend with a thief.

In February 2013, the athlete was charged with murder. In August 2014, prosecutor Gerry Nel addressed the judge asking to dismiss the arguments of Pistorius’ defense since they were not true. The prosecution insisted on wilful murder, for which the 27-year-old athlete could have been sentenced to 25 years in jail or even life imprisonment.

The trial over Steenkamp’s murder lasted for more than a year. The athlete had to sell his house for €315,000 to cover the legal fees.