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Judge Thokozile Masipa said the athlete had acted "negligently" when he fired shots through a toilet door, but in the "belief that there was an intruder".

She said the state had failed to prove he intended to kill Reeva Steenkamp.

The judge allowed Pistorius to remain on bail ahead of sentencing which is to take place on 13 October.

The victim's parents, June and Barry Steenkamp, condemned the verdict, saying it was "not justice for Reeva".

Speaking in an interview with NBC News, June Steenkamp said: "He shot through the door and I can't believe that they believe it was an accident."

However Arnold Pistorius, the athlete's uncle, said the family was "deeply grateful" to the judge for finding him not guilty of murder and that a "big burden" had been lifted.

"There are no victors in this," he added. "We as a family remain deeply affected by the devastating, tragic event... It won't bring Reeva back but our hearts still go out for her family and friends."

South Africa's prosecuting authority said it was "disappointed" Pistorius was not convicted of murder but said it would wait until after sentencing to decide whether to appeal.

The verdict leaves the disgraced sprinter facing up to 15 years in jail, although the judge could suspend the sentence or only impose a fine.

The BBC's Nomsa Maseko said there was a poignant moment in court when Oscar Pistorius's father and Reeva Steenkamp's father hugged each other as the judge adjourned to consider bail.

The athlete was also found guilty on a charge of negligently handling a firearm that went off in a restaurant.

Oscar Pistorius was a picture of composure as the judge announced he was guilty of culpable homicide, a lesser count of murder in South Africa.

The athlete, who became emotional on Thursday after being described as an "evasive witness", seemed to have been expecting this verdict. The judge had already spoken of his negligence and use of "excessive force" when he fired through the door.

Some say this verdict is the best outcome he could have hoped for.

Many South Africans have questioned the judge's decision to acquit him of murder and argue that the prosecution may have grounds to appeal.

For now, the Pistorius family seem relieved. But in the benches opposite them, friends and relatives of model Reeva Steenkamp wept, while others, including her mother June, seemed shell-shocked.

In 2007, when the Charles Koch Foundation considered giving millions of dollars to Florida State University’s economics department, the offer came with strings attached.

First, the curriculum it funded must align with the libertarian, deregulatory economic philosophy of Charles Koch, the billionaire industrialist and Republican political bankroller.

Second, the Charles Koch Foundation would at least partially control which faculty members Florida State University hired.

And third, Bruce Benson, a prominent libertarian economic theorist and Florida State University economics department chairman, must stay on another three years as department chairman — even though he told his wife he’d step down in 2009 after one three-year term.

The Charles Koch Foundation expressed a willingness to give Florida State an extra $105,000 to keep Benson — a self-described “libertarian anarchist” who asserts that every government function he’s studied “can be, has been, or is being produced better by the private sector” — in place.

“As we all know, there are no free lunches. Everything comes with costs,” Benson at the time wrote to economics department colleagues in an internal memorandum. “They want to expose students to what they believe are vital concepts about the benefits of the market and the dangers of government failure, and they want to support and mentor students who share their views. Therefore, they are trying to convince us to hire faculty who will provide that exposure and mentoring.”

Benson concluded, “If we are not willing to hire such faculty, they are not willing to fund us.”

Such details are contained in 16 pages of previously unpublished emails andmemos obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.

While the documents are seven years old — and don’t reflect the Charles Koch Foundation’s current relationship with Florida State University, university officials contend — they offer rare insight into how Koch’s philanthropic operation prods academics to preach a free market gospel in exchange for cash.