JOHANNESBURG, Sept 11 (Reuters) - South African track star Oscar Pistorius broke down in tears as Judge Thokozile Masipa read out her verdict in his murder case in a Pretoria court on Thursday.

Shoulders shaking, the Olympic and paralympic star bowed his head and sobbed as he listened to Masipa, who earlier said the state had failed to prove premeditated murder.

Pistorius is on trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he killed on Feb. 14 last year. Pistorius has said he shot Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder while the state said he killed her in a rage after an argument. (Reporting by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura; editing by David Dolan)