London ( CNN ) -- The defense in the Oscar Pistorius murder case rested Tuesday , bringing to an end the latest phase of a trial which has lasted longer than the athlete 's relationship with Reeva Steenkamp , the girlfriend he killed . Closing arguments will begin August 7 , the judge ordered . The long delay may be because of the length of time it will take the legal teams on both sides to review the transcript of the case , CNN legal analyst Kelly Phelps said . It 's thought to be as much as 4,000 pages long , covering a case that ran for 39 days between March 3 and July 8 . Pistorius , 27 , admits firing the bullets that killed Steenkamp , but he says he mistakenly thought he was defending himself from an intruder . Prosecutors say the two had an argument and he deliberately murdered the model and law school graduate , who was 29 . Following closing arguments , the judge will have to decide whether Pistorius genuinely made a mistake or deliberately murdered his girlfriend . If Judge Thokozile Masipa does not believe the athlete thought there was an intruder , she will find him guilty of murder and sentence him to a prison term ranging from 15 years to life . South Africa does not have the death penalty . If Masipa accepts that Pistorius did not know that Steenkamp was the person he was shooting at , she could find him guilty of culpable homicide , a lesser charge than murder , or acquit him , according to Phelps , the CNN legal analyst . A verdict of culpable homicide would leave the sentence at Masipa 's discretion .
Closing arguments will begin August 7 . The athlete is accused of deliberately shooting his girlfriend , Reeva Steenkamp . He says he shot Steenkamp accidentally in his bathroom , mistaking her for an intruder .