Pistorius gives evidence: Live Report

Pistorius gives evidence: Live Report

13:05 GMT - AFP IS CLOSING THIS LIVE REPORT AFTER Oscar Pistorius gave a harrowing account of the moment he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, before breaking down in court, forcing the judge to adjourn his murder trial.

Sobbing uncontrollably, the star Paralympian described how in the dead of night on Valentine's Day last year he heard a noise and rushed to his bathroom with his gun, believing there was an intruder in his home.

"Then I heard a noise from inside the toilet, what I perceived to be someone coming out of the toilet," Pistorius told the high court in Pretoria, unable to fight back the tears.

"Before I knew it I'd fired four shots at the door," he said, his voice cracking with anguish.

Pistorius is on trial facing a life sentence for deliberating murdering Steenkamp, a charge he denies.

"My ears were ringing, I didn't hear anything," Pistorius continued. He shouted for Steenkamp to phone the police, and rushed back into the room.

"I kept on shouting for Reeva."

When she did not respond Pistorius said he realised he may have made a terrible mistake and rushed back to the bathroom to break down the door.

There, he found her fatally injured.

"I sat over Reeva," the athlete testified, sobbing loudly and putting his head in his hands and before letting out the barely intelligible cry: "She wasn't breathing".

After a brief adjournment, his lawyer Barry Roux came back to say his client was in no state to continue.

The case was then adjourned until tomorrow (Wednesday).

Scroll down to find out how the dramatic evidence unfolded.

12:50 GMT - Adjourned until Wednesday - Pistorius was calmer but still red as he comes back into court after the adjournment, AFP's Johannes Myburgh reports.

"He left quickly after Judge Masipa granted an adjournment until Wednesday. Defence and prosecution lawyers had agreed to this during the short adjournment."

12:34 GMT - 'She wasn't breathing' - Pistorius breaks down in tears, forcing an adjournment of the trial, as he recalls the moment he discovered he had shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead.

"I sat over Reeva," the athlete testified before sobbing loudly, putting his head in his hands and letting out a barely intelligible cry: "She wasn't breathing".

12:26 GMT - 'I was in a panic' - Pistorius continues to recount the moments after he fired the shots before finding Reeva's body in the toilet, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports from the court.

"I screamed for someone to help me," Pistorius continues.

"I put my prosthetic legs on - I ran as fast to the bathroom.

"I tried to kick the door - nothing happened.

"I was in panic at this point, I didn't know what to make or do.

"I ran back to the bedroom, where the cricket bat was between the cabinet and the door."

Lawyer Barry Roux: "Were you screaming at that stage?"

"I was screaming and shouting the whole time. I was crying to the Lord to help me, I was crying to Reeva, I was screaming."

Pistorius then bashed down the toilet door with the cricket bat.

"I think I hit it (the door) three times .. and there was big plank , and I grabbed it with my hand and I threw it out in my bathroom ...

"I sat over Reeva and cried," he continues, breaking into tears and breathing heavily.

"I don't know how long I was there," he said, starting to heave and sob. "She wasn't breathing."

12:25 GMT - 'I felt if Reeva was there' - Pistorius recounts how the fired shots at the toilet door before going back to the bedroom, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports from the court.

"I placed my hand back to the right hand side of the bed," Pistorius says.

"I felt if Reeva was there and I couldn't feel anything.

"At that point the first thing I thought was maybe she got down on the floor.

"Maybe she's just scared.

"I ran my hand along the curtains to see she wasn't hiding in the curtains.

"I couldn't see much in the room, but I could see where the passage was.

"I made my way back up the passage, still had my firearm in front of me.

"I was still scared someone was coming in, to attack me or us.

"I made my way back inside the bathroom and I walked up to the bathroom door.

"I pushed the door open but it was locked.

"For the first time, I turned around, my back facing the bathroom.

"I opened the curtains, I shouted from the balcony.

"I opened the door, I shouted for help.

"Help, help, help!"

12:22 GMT - 'I peered around the corner' - Pistorius pauses, before continuing his testimony about the moments leading up to the shooting, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports from the court.

"I was pretty much up against the wall, with my hand up against the wall -- I was leaning with my back [for balance]," Pistorius continues.

"I wasn't sure if there were people ... in the toilets, or if they were on the ladder that they would use to get access... or if they were around the corner at that point.

"I peered around the corner to look where the shower."

Pistorius sits in dock, looking at photos of the bathroom floor, where the cricket bat is lying.

"At that point I saw there was no one in the bathroom. And the window was open.

"Once I saw that there wasn't anybody around the corner wanting to attack me, I retreated a little."

He describes how he was balanced against the wall.

"At this point I started screaming again for Reeva to phone the police," Pistorius continues.

"I wasn't sure where to point the firearm, I had it pointed at the toilet but my eyes were going to the window and the toilet.

"I stood there for some time, I wasn't sure if something was going to come out of the toilet and attack me.

"I wasn't sure if someone was going to come up the ladder and point a firearm and start shooting.

"So I just stayed where I was..."

Pistorius is crying, Findlay reports.

"Then I heard a noise from inside the toilet, what I perceived to be someone coming out of the toilet.

"Before I knew it I'd fired four shots at the door.

"I couldn't hear anything.

"So I kept on shouting for Reeve [Reeva] to phone the police.

"I wasn't sure if there was somebody on the latter, I wasn't sure if there was somebody on the toilet."

Pistorius's sister Aimee is crying, Reeva Steenkamp's mother June has her head bowed.

12:20 GMT - 'BEFORE I KNEW IT I'D FIRED FOUR SHOTS,' PISTORIUS TELLS COURT

12:15 GMT - 'Window was open' - Pistorius discusses the moments leading up to the point he fired his weapon, as photos of the interior of the property are displayed as exhibits, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports.

"At that point when I was entering the bathroom, I wasn't shouting and screaming, at that point I thought the intruder or intruders were going to come out," Pistorius tells the court.

Lawyer Barry Roux: "Look at photo 83."

"I approached the entrance of the bathroom, I was walking with my left hand against the cabinets as far away from the entrance of the bathroom I possibly could be," Pistorius says.

"When I got to the point at the bottom right hand side, I had my pistol in my right hand."

Pistorius holding his arm out as if holding gun.

"I made my way, pretty much to where the carpets and tile meet on the left hand side.

"The surface changed, and I can walk more comfortably on the carpets, I don't have the ability to walk on tile surfaces.

"I had my pistol raised to the corner of the entrance of the bathroom.

Pistorius stands up and points to bathtub.

"There was no light in the bathroom," Pistorius continues.

"I could see that the window was open."

11:42 GMT - Big questions - Some big questions have emerged from Pistorius's testimony about the night of the shooting, writes AFP's southern Africa news editor Andrew Beatty.

"If he shouted why did Steenkamp not answer?

"If the room was dark -- the reason he didn't notice Steenkamp was not in bed -- how did he see her jeans?

"How did he run to the bathroom if he claims he had limited balance on stumps?"

11:40 GMT - Court adjourned for lunch - Pistorius dons a dark coat over his informal wear and leaves through a side entrance, AFP's Johannes Myburgh reports from the court.

"Steenkamp relatives sigh in exasperation at having to wait another hour before they hear how he shot her," Myburgh writes.

ADJOURNED FOR LUNCH

11:25 GMT - 'Grabbed my firearm' - Pistorius continues to give his tense testimony about the moments leading up to the shooting on Valentine's Day last year, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports.

"I made my way along the side of the bed, I grabbed my firearm from underneath the bed," Pistorius tells the court.

"[I had to] put myself between the person who had gained access to my house and Reeve [Reeva].

"Just as I left my bed, I said for Reeva to get down and call the police."

Myers family member has an arm around her sister in the gallery, Findlay reports.

Pistorius's brother Carl is sitting up ram-rod straight.

Pistorius continues, saying he was "overcome with fear" at that point.

"I shouted for Reeva to get on the floor, call the police," Pistorius continues.

"So I made my way down the passage, aware that these people or persons could come at me at any time, I didn't have my legs [protheses] on."

Pistorius shifts in his chair.

"I stopped shouting because I was worried if I shouted the person would know exactly where I was.

"Just before I got to the passage of the bathroom I heard a door slam, could have only been the toilet door.

"I could hear the door slam, and it confirmed there was a person or people inside the bathroom."

11:20 GMT - 'I needed to get my gun' - Pistorius now giving his vital testimony about the moments leading up to the shooting, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports.

"The only light in the room was a little LED light from the amplifier," Pistorius tells the court.

"And I could see Reeva's jeans, on the floor.

"I picked the jeans up, and just placed them over the light."

Defence lawyer Barry Roux swallows, his jaw is tense, Findlay says.

"It was at this point I heard the window open in the bathroom it sounded like a window sliding open -- to the point where it can't slide anymore," Pistorius says.

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel rests his chin on his right hand, elbow on the desk.

Barry Roux: "What did you think at the time Mr Pistorius?"

Pistorius: "I think that's the moment everything changed."

Pistorius is crying, Findlay reports.

"I think initially I just froze," Pistorius says.

"There's no door between the bathroom and my room -- it's a passageway but there's no door, there's a toilet door, but between me and the bathroom it's one route.

"The first thing that ran through my mind was I needed to arm myself, I needed to protect Reeva and I.

"I needed to get my gun."

11:15 GMT - Firearm under the bed - Pistorius being cross-examined about the night of the shooting by defence lawyer Barry Roux, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports.

"Whilst I was on the phone, she started doing stretches and yoga on the floor," Pistorius recounts.

"As the conversation was coming to an end, Reeva got up and walked to the bathroom.

"I walked to the bathroom and brushed my teeth.

"As I brushed my teeth she went back to the bedroom.

"When I came back to the room she was lying in the middle of the bed.

"I walked to the closest side of the bed, to look at the mirror on the left (?)

"When I got upstairs I placed my firearm under the bed.

"The bed base is a furniture base and it was four legs, and the bedside table touches the floor.

"I put it around under the corner of the bed...

"It wasn't usual for me to sleep on the left hand side, but because of my shoulder injury I couldn't lie on my right shoulder

"It wasn't long after that I started falling asleep.

"It started feeling warm inside the room.

"Reeva was still sitting up in the bed, lying with her back against the headboard."

11:10 GMT - Night of shooting - Pistorius now giving testimony about the night of the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports from the court.

"Around eight o'clock I came into my room, I opened the balcony doors, it was a very humid evening," Pistorius says.

"I had been working on my house for some time and the air conditioning was something they needed to fix.

"You mentioned your room..." interjects Judge Masipa.

"My bedroom, my lady..." says Pistorius.

"You said the aircon was not working?" defence lawyer Barry Roux then asks.

"I placed two fans -- a steel pop-up fan, a small plastic fan -- I placed the tripod fan a bit further back with one of the legs on the balcony and the other two legs on the sliding door," Pistorius explains.

"I placed the small fan pretty much between the legs of the larger fan."

Pistorius wipes his eyes.

"I then closed the doors because at night there's a light on the balcony that traps insects.

"I drew the blinds and the curtains so that no bugs could come in from outside, and I had them more or less draped through the side of the fan.

"In my room I have black light on my curtains because of the hours I travel and the hours I sleep are not always usual -- I sometimes sleep in the day.

"If the curtains are drawn you can't see anything in the room.

"Along the top of the rail you can see a bit of light coming in.

"At that point Reeve [Reeva} came into the room, I took my drink and put it on the bedside table.

"I walked behind Reeva when she came into the room, I closed the bedroom door and I locked the bedroom door as I do every night."

11:01 GMT - 'Take the blame' - Pistorius is alleged to have asked his friend Darren Fresco to take the blame for the shooting incident at Tasha's restaurant in Johannesburg, according to another friend Kevin Lerena who testified about the incident last month.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux asks Pistorius whether he said anything at the time about being worried about the media reporting the incident at Tasha's.

"Not at that stage, I didn't really speak much," Pistorius says.

"I said to Darren: do you realize how stupid that was?

"He carried on saying to me that he would take the blame.

"He (Fresco) said I'm sorry, it's my fault.

"I didn't want to elaborate on it, I didn't want to talk about it."

10:55 GMT - Straining to hear - Journalists lean forward, straining to hear as Pistorius's voice falls when recounts what happened after he woke up on February 14 last year, Johannes Myburgh reports from the court.

10:43 GMT - Long-sleeved vest - Pistorius is now wearing a thin white long-sleeved vest, black Nike tights and on his prostheses as he prepares to reenact the events of the night of the shooting, Johannes Myburgh reports from the court.

"He stands next to the door. Then he sits and takes off his prostheses, wobbles over to the door and stands next to it for a second. He is about two heads above the door handle on his stumps."

10:39 GMT - Meticulous notes - Judge Thokozile Masipa and her two assessors show new alertness during Pistorius's testimony on the charges against him, taking down meticulous notes, AFP's Johannes Myburgh reports from the court.

10:30 GMT - Shooting at Tasha's - Pistorius giving testimony about an incident when he allegedly fired a gun at the upmarket Tasha's restaurant in Johannesburg in January last year, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports from the court.

The bullet Pistorius allegedly fired grazed the foot of his friend Kevin Lerena, according to the 21-year-old professional boxer who testified before Judge Thokozile Masipa last month.

Pistorius describes how he took the gun from his friend Darren Fresco before the incident.

"I wanted to make sure the firearm was safe," Pistorius tells the court.

"As I checked the chamber … the next thing I knew the firearm discharged.

"I was in the fear that someone got hurt, the whole restaurant got dead quiet.

"I was quite angry initially - I didn't want to keep the firearm with me.

Pistorius pauses during his account before continuing.

"I handed him his firearm back - I couldn't actually believe what happened," the athlete says.

"Darren he said the firearm fell on the floor from his pants [trousers].

"I didn't really know what I was thinking.

"I think at this point I was relieved people weren't hurt.

"He told me not to say anything."

10:24 GMT - 'I always carry my firearm' - Pistorius continues to give his account of the alleged sunroof shooting in 2012, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports.

"Just as you come into south Johannesburg, coming up to Soweto, we got pulled over by a metro police officer," Pistorius says.

"The police car arrived from the front, driving along the skirt of the highway."

Pistorius gestures with his hands describing police cars surrounding their car.

"I always carry my firearm with me," Pistorius continues.

"I wanted to get out to help defuse the situation.

"The police were really agitated.

"I took my firearm off my person and put it on the seat of the car and closed the door."

10:05 GMT - Sunroof shots? - Pistorius has been describing the incident in 2012 when he allegedly fired his gun at a traffic light after a row with traffic police, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports.

According to court testimony given on March 12 by Fresco, who was driving the vehicle, Pistorius fired the weapon out of the sunroof of the car. Pistorius's then-girlfriend Samantha Taylor was also in the vehicle.

"I sat in the passenger side of the car," Pistorius tells the court.

"Samantha Taylor sat behind Darren Fresco.

"We left in the middle of the afternoon - on the way back to the house we were about climb onto the N1 highway near the Vaal River.

"We came around a corner just before the onramp and a police officer was standing in the road.

"The vehicle we were travelling in didn't have a registration on the front of the vehicle.

"The officer wrote an infringement for Mr. Fresco.

"Darren Fresco took it from the police officer and he threw it … where I was sitting."

09:52 GMT - Sunroof - After tea Pistorius's testimony finally starts with one of the charges against him - firing a gun through the sunroof of a moving car, AFP's Johannes Myburgh reports.

He also faces another charge of firing a gun in a restaurant and the possession of illegal ammunition.

BACK IN COURT

09:34 GMT - Former girlfriend - Before the adjournment, Pistorius discussed the end of his previous relationship with his former girlfriend Samantha Taylor in 2012, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports.

"The last correspondence I had with Ms. Taylor was on the 27th of October," Pistorius said.

"Ms. Taylor wrote me an email - she confessed to sleeping with a guy she was seeing. After that I never spoke to her again.

"She kept on sending me messages every day, but I never replied to any of them.

"And I met Reeve [Reeva Steenkamp] on the 4th of November.

"We went to the sports awards together, and she said to me: 'You know this is going to create…'

"I said to her, if she'd rather not come out just say."

09:26 GMT - Sigh of relief - A sigh of relief from the public gallery as the court breaks for tea after a marathon session going into the relationship between Pistorius and Steenkamp, AFP's Johannes Myburgh reports.

The accused has a sip of water, then takes a seat against the wall, rubs his eyes, and sits with his head in his hands. His aunt consoles him.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux smiles as his colleague Brian Webber pats him on the back.

The defence spent a lot of time in the morning session to portray a loving couple which sometimes had trouble, but talked through their problems, Myburgh says.

09:21 GMT - Adjourned for tea - Court has been adjourned for a tea break, AFP's Andrew Beatty reports.

COURT ADJOURNED

09:17 GMT - Wiping his eyes - Pistorius's voice breaks and tears well up as he reads messages Steenkamp sent him on February 10 last year, days before he shot her dead, AFP's Johannes Myburgh reports from the court.

"You are important to me," he reads, before taking off his glasses and wiping his eyes with a white handkerchief.

09:12 GMT - Black-and-white sketch - Court sketch artist Jaco van Vuuren is sitting in bench with investigations officials sketching a drawing of Pistorius in the dock, AFP's Johannes Myburgh reports from the court.

"From time to time he glances intently at his subject, toothpick in the mouth, hair tied back in a pony," Myburgh writes.

"The black-and-white sketch shows the accused in the witness stand, as well as another person resembling Barry Roux, the defence lawyer who is leading evidence on loving messages sent between Pistorius and Steenkamp."

09:06 GMT - Run away - Pistorius smiled and leaned back as he reads out some of Steenkamp's message to him when he was worrying about paying for his new house, AFP's Johannes Myburgh reports from the court.

She suggested they run away together to a small country if he couldn't make the payments any more.

08:59 GMT - 'Amazeballs' - Steenkamp was attending a function without Pistorius and they exchanged texts about what she was going to wear, AFP's Sibongile Khumalo reports.

Steenkamp sent Pistorius a picture of herself in a leopard print dress, asking whether she could wear it.

Pistorius replied: "I love that, you look amazeballs."

She wrote back: "You are amazeballs."

Most text messages between the two ended with 'baba', smiley faces and 'boo', Khumalo reports.

08:54 GMT - 'Sign of endearment' - Defence lawyer Barry Roux is trying to paint a picture of a loving couple, through their text message exchanges, AFP's Sibongile Khumalo reports.

Roux asks Pistorius about the couple's names for each other in text messages.

He reads out a message where Steenkamp signed off by saying: "I love you, boo."

"What does 'boo' mean?" Roux asks Pistorius.

"It's a sign of endearment used by young people sometimes," Pistorius explains.

08:45 GMT - 'I'm here next to you' - In a WhatsApp text message sent by Steenkamp on January 9, 2013, she wrote: "This is going to be a good year. I'm here next to you," reports AFP's Sibongile Khumalo.

"She meant she was by my side not physically but here with me," Pistorius explains.

Pistorius says at the time he was under pressure from various "external factors" at the time.

"I was dealing with a lot of things: pressure from the media side, pressure from the training side," says Pistorius.

"Pressure with my finances, purchasing a new home, a lot of external factors I think contributed to that."

08:35 GMT - 'Emotional person' - Pistorius is discussing the numerous text messages exchanged between the couple, AFP's Sibongile Khumalo reports.

"Reeva liked writing down things more, she thought it was easier," Pistorius tells the court.

"I didn't like texting because things didn't get across right - Reeva preferred writing things down.

"At times she was an emotional person because she wouldn't want to speak.

"She had a difficult relationship in the past, where it wasn't conducive to her.

"She got her back up against the wall fairly easily.

"So after this message I spoke to her…"

08:24 GMT - Speaking louder - Pistorius is sitting slightly hunched while giving testimony, reading from a ringbinder file in front of him, AFP's Johannes Myburgh reports from the court.

"He spoke slightly louder than Monday - a boon for the around 80 reporters in the public gallery who struggle to accurately take down testimony," Myburgh reports.

"Some journalists tried following the trial with earphones on the radio or internet from inside the courtroom.

"Pistorius's uncle Arnold, who often speaks on behalf of the family, wore a sound enhancer with earphones."

08:21 GMT - Enjoyed each other's company - Pistorius also talks about the "many things" he and Steenkamp had in common, AFP's Sibongile Khumalo reports.

"She (Reeva) then went overseas to shoot a TV programme when she came back we saw each other less frequently," Pistorius says.

"Time went and we kinda spoke.... we started talking about future plans.

"We were looking at interior decorating a home that I had bought in Johannesburg.

"There were many things that we had in common, that we started talking about frequently.

"She asked me to help her with her contracts - we enjoyed keeping each others' company."

08:10 GMT - Short mood - Defence lawyer Barry Roux is quoting text messages sent by Reeva Steenkamp to Pistorius, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports from the court.

Pistorius's hands are shaking as he holds onto his binder, full of the text messages the state used to highlight arguments the couple had.

Pistorius then recounts what he describes as a "bad hour" in his relationship with Steenkamp while they were at an engagement party at "Mr. Frescos", referring to his friend Darren Fresco.

"She started talking to a person that was unknown to me - I was standing next to Reeve," Pistorius says.

"I made my presence known, again she didn't introduce me so I walked off.

"I think maybe I was just being sensitive, and maybe felt a bit insecure or jealous and she came and sat down to me, tickling my neck.

"We left, whilst everyone else was leaving, Reeva was supposed to come back to the house.

"She was in a short mood with me, so instead I dropped her off at her place."

07:47 GMT - Difficult relationships - Pistorius starts by giving evidence about the start of his relationship with Reeva Steenkamp, AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports from the court.

"We both had things that kept us back," Pistorius tells the court.

"We both came out of difficult relationships before.

"I was very keen on Reeva. I think if anything I was more into her, than she was at times with me."

07:42 GMT - Calm and collected - Half an hour before this morning's session started, Pistorius had already arrived and was sitting against a wall talking intently with his lawyer Barry Roux, AFP's Johannes Myburgh reports.

He later took his place in the witness stand looking down. He looked calm and collected.

Reeva Steenkamp's mother June came in and out of the courtroom, as well as her friends from Johannesburg the Myers.

Dressed in black, Desi Myers and her daughter Gina, who had been Reeva's roommate, wore tags bearing a black-and-white print of the model.

It seemed there was a larger group of Steenkamp's family and friends, possibly out of the expectation that today they would finally hear from Pistorius what happened the night his girlfriend was killed.

07:38 GMT - Unlicensed ammunition - Aswell as his account of the night of the shooting, Pistorius is expected to testify about charges that he fired a gun in an upmarket Johannesburg restaurant, and through a car's sunroof on a different occasion, AFP's Johannes Myburgh writes from Pretoria.

Testimony is also expected on why he had unlicensed ammunition in his home safe - another charge.

07:35 GMT - Courtroom full - "Pistorius is facing where Judge Masipa sits, has his arms on his lap. He has not acknowledged his family," AFP's Stephanie Findlay reports from the court.

"The courtroom is full again, the first row of the public gallery full with Pistorius family and Steenkamp friends and supporters."

07:29 GMT - In the dock - Pistorius is back in the dock, reports AFP's Stephanie Findlay from the high court.

"He took a big sigh, wearing a dark grey suit. Sitting stone-still. Has a bottle of water on the stand."

07:25 GMT - WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT as Paralympian Oscar Pistorius takes the stand for the second straight day at his murder trial in Pretoria.

The 27-year-old athlete is expected to give his first account of why he shot dead his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.

Pistorius, who denies murder, has to explain why he fired four shots at Steenkamp through a locked toilet door at his home. He claims he mistook here for an intruder.

A tearful Pistorius apologised Monday to Steenkamp's family, telling the court he had "terrible nightmares" since killing his girlfriend and often woke up smelling blood.

Sobbing and with his jaw trembling as he took the witness stand in his defence, Pistorius said he did not intend to kill his 29-year-old lover.

Stay with us for live updates from our reporters at North Gauteng High Court.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (1)