A South African court has denied Oscar Pistorius' request to appeal his murder conviction in the Reeva Steenkamp case. The disgraced athlete will now be sentenced on 18 April and prosecutors are hoping that Oscar will be dealt a jail sentence of at least 15 years.
South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority said the Constitutional Court found "no prospect of success" in Oscar's appeal.
When his family were told the news, Oscar's brother Carl wrote on Twitter: "Shattered."
© Photo: Getty ImagesOscar Pistorius was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
The former Paralympian killed his girlfriend Reeva on Valentine's Day in 2013, after firing four shots through the bathroom door.
Oscar, who has always maintained that he was shooting an intruder, was at first convicted of manslaughter. He was given a five-year jail sentence by Judge Thokozile Masipa, which many believed was a light charge.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe athlete will be sentenced on 18 April
After just ten months, Oscar was released from prison and allowed to serve the rest of his time under house arrest in his uncle's lavish home.
However, in December, Oscar's verdict was overturned after an appeal by the prosecution and the 29-year-old was charged with murder.
Oscar's team appealed against this, but after the latest rejection, the next step is for Oscar to appear in court in April to be sentenced. Analysts are seeing this as the end of the road for the athlete.
Oscar's brother Carl wrote "Shattered" after hearing that Oscar's appeal had been rejected
Reeva's parents June and Barry will no doubt be relieved by the outcome. However during an interview with HELLO! after Oscar was handed his original, lighter sentence, June and Barry admitted that they weren't looking for vengeance.
"We're not looking for vengeance or for him to get hurt," said June. "We're just happy because he's going to be punished for what he's done. He may come out early on good behaviour, but by the time he's served that time, it will have taught him that he can't go around doing things like that."
"We're both satisfied with the result and are relieved it's all over," added Barry. "All we want to do now is get on with our lives."
