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Oscar Pistorius: "I needed to protect Reeva and I"
South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has begun to describe in court the moments leading up to the shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The athlete denies deliberately shooting dead Ms Steenkamp in his home on Valentine's Day last year, arguing he mistook her for an intruder.
He said he was overcome with fear after hearing a noise from the bathroom.
Earlier, he cried when describing Valentine's Day gifts they were to give each other.
On his first day on the stand, he made a tearful apology to Ms Steenkamp's family.
Continue reading the main storyIf found guilty, the 27-year-old double amputee athlete could face life imprisonment.
'Started screaming'After bringing in some fans from the balcony in the early hours of 14 February 2013, he said he heard a noise.
In a voice trembling with emotion, he told his murder trial: "That's the moment everything changed".
"I thought that there was a burglar that was gaining entry to my home," he said
The athlete, 27, said he wanted to protect Ms Steenkamp, who he said was still awake when he had woken up, and went to get his gun in the dark.
"I whispered to Reeva to get down and phone the police," he said.
He then went into the passage without his prosthetic legs and, overcome with fear, started screaming, and shouted for Ms Steenkamp to get to the floor.
The toilet door then slammed, which reconfirmed there was a person or people in the bathroom, the athlete said.
The BBC's Andrew Harding in court says Mr Pistorius then appeared to retch as a photograph of Ms Steenkamp's body was briefly shown on a screen in court.
The athlete described how the couple had spent a quiet evening together - Ms Steenkamp had done some yoga as he spoke to his cousin on the phone.
He had then watched TV in bed with his head resting on her stomach and she would occasionally show him photos of cars she was looking at on her phone, he said.
The prosecution alleges that Mr Pistorius deliberately shot his girlfriend after the couple had had an argument.
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Mr Pistorius also faces charges of illegally firing a gun in public and of illegally possessing ammunition, which he denies.
There are no juries at trials in South Africa, and his fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.
Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, reality TV celebrity and law graduate, was hit by at least three bullets while in the toilet cubicle of Mr Pistorius' home in Pretoria.
Known as the Blade Runner, Mr Pistorius holds six Paralympic medals and competed in the 2012 Olympic Games.
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Mr Pistorius said in his statement at the start of the trial that he woke in the early hours and walked on his stumps to the balcony, pulled in two fans, closed the sliding door and drew curtains. He said that shortly before he had spoken to Reeva, who was in bed beside him.
He said he rejected prosecution claims that a witness heard arguing coming from the house before the shooting.
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Mr Pistorius said he heard the bathroom window sliding open and believed that an intruder, or intruders, had entered the bathroom through a window which was not fitted with burglar bars.
"Unbeknown to me, Reeva must have gone to the toilet in the bathroom at the time I brought in the fans," he said.
Mr Pistorius said he approached the bathroom armed with his firearm, to defend himself and his girlfriend, believing Ms Steenkamp was still in bed.
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Both sides agree four bullets were fired. Ms Steenkamp was hit three times.
Mr Pistorius said he fired his weapon after hearing a noise in the toilet which he thought was the intruder coming out of the toilet to attack him and Ms Steenkamp.
He said he was in a fearful state, knowing he was on his stumps and unable to run away or properly defend himself.
Mr Pistorius said he rejected claims that he was on his prostheses when he shot at the door.
A witness told the trial she woke to hear a woman screaming and a man shouting for help. She said that after the screams she heard four shots.
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At his bail hearing last year, Mr Pistorius said he went back to the bedroom after shooting at the toilet door, then noticed Ms Steenkamp was not in bed.
Mr Pistorius said he then realised she could have been in the toilet.
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Mr Pistorius said he went back to the bathroom but the toilet was locked, so he returned to the bedroom, pulled on his prosthetic legs, turned on the lights before bashing in the toilet door with a cricket bat.
Forensics expert Johannes Vermeulen told the court that the height of the marks on the door caused by the cricket bat suggest Mr Pistorius was on his stumps at the time.
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Mr Pistorius's defence team say he then called security at the gated housing complex and a private paramedic service before carrying Ms Steenkamp downstairs.
A security guard claimed it was the other way round, and he had called Mr Pistorius first after reports of gunfire. However, phone records shown to the court revealed Mr Pistorius called the estate manager at 3:19am, a minute later he called the ambulance service and at 3:21am he called estate security.
A minute later he received an incoming call - estate security calling him back.
According to police phone expert Francois Moller, Mr Pistorius called his friend Justin Divaris a short time later and just after 4:00am he called his brother Carl.
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