"Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius arrested for Murder

Oscar Pistorius was at his home in an upmarket gated security complex in Pretoria, South Africa where his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp arrived to stay overnight. She had bought a Valentine's gift for Oscar at around 3pm at a store nearby his home. Reeva appeared to be happy and excited when she left the store.

Reeva arrived at Oscar's home at approximately 17h00 with an overnight bag and her Valentine's gift (a photo frame with a picture of the couple.)

She had tweeted, "It's a beautiful day! Make things happen. Starting the day off with a yummy health shake from my boo."

Later that night she was shot four times through a locked toilet door, after Oscar thought that she was an intruder.

Have a look at the updates of the trial here.

Oscar Pistorius was serving a 10 months out of a five year sentence for culpable homicide but the State was not satisfied with the outcome of the trial and believe that Oscar should have been tried for murder as he was aware, whilst shooting four bullets into the bathroom, that someone was on the other side of that door and that he could kill them. The State attorney, Gerrie Nel appealed and asked for the matter to be taken to the Supreme Court where they have found him guilty of murder. Oscar will be resentenced by Judge Masipa in the new year and in the meantime, will be under house arrest. A sentence for murder is 15 years in prison and in most cases, an eighth of the sentence will be served. The five judges found Oscar guilty as there were errors in the case. He can appeal but only if he was given an unfair trial, which in this case he was not.

21st October 2014, Oscar pistorius or the famous "Blade Runner" has been sentenced after an eight month trial for shooting and killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a locked toilet door, four times in his bedroom.

Judge Masipa has gone through the witness statements and shown that Oscar has been through therapy where he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Syndrome and Depression.

Social worker, Mrs Vergeer was a witness that she was not impressed with as she had outdated information that was not useful.

Mr Modise impressed Judge Masipa with his information on correctional services in South Africa and that it would not be a problem for Oscar to be admitted.

Even prisoners with problems or are in need of medical attention, can be accommodated in th prisons.

The judge's conclusion is that sentencing should not be too harsh or too light.

Oscar knew that there was a person behind the door, he was trained in the use of firearms and his vulnerabilities and disability is not relevant in the case.

Masipa said that a suspended sentence would not be appropriate in this case and that she has considered all the evidence, the seriousness of the offence and that a non - custodial sentence or a long sentence is not appropriate.

Oscar must serve 5 years in prison for culpable homicide and 3 years in prison, suspended for five years for the shooting in the restaurant.

Nel has asked that Oscar shall not be allowed to own or use a firearm.

Pistorius and his family seemed very calm and there was very little reaction to his judgment.

Although he has been sentenced to five years all he will have to serve is a sixth of his sentence which would be a minimum of eight months in prison and it is up to the correctional services to see whether he is fit to be released.

His suspended sentence for the shooting in the restaurant means that should Oscar do anything criminal or reckless in the next five years, he would be sent back to prison.

Barry Roux said that Oscar is not a cold blooded killer and jail time would be a harsh sentence as he has sufferd enough. The loss if his sponsors, his movable assets and all his other assets has left him financially crippled. He has also been under public scrutiny as people assumed that he killed Reeva with a cricket bat on steroids whilst taking acting lessons for his appearance in court.

Nel disagreed and argued that he found Pistorius trying to influence his sentence by paying the Steenkamp family a monthly payment of R6000 per month and offering another sum of R300 000.

Gerrie Nel said that the negligence was serious and Oscar deserves a jail sentence for his actions. His disability should not be taken into account as he has been in Olympic games fighting for the right to be with able bodied athletes and now to suit himself, is not able to go to a prison.

Nel said that we need to be reminded of what happened to Reeva and how she looked when she died. Oscar has lost his finances but Reeva Steenkamp lost her life.

The defence team in the Oscar sentencing had their witness questioned by Nel and as a probation officer, Vergeer did not show much knowledge on prisons in South Africa. She said that it would be best for Pistorius to be sentenced to house arrest as he would not make it in a prison as there are no facilities for people like him. At some stage she even mentioned that there are no toilets and that rape is forced.

Nel told her that she is not aware of the status of prisons in South Africa and he mentioned that he found one in Pretoria where they accommodate disabled people too.

The most heart wrenching witness was called, Kim Martin who is Reeva Steenkamp's cousin.

She said that Reeva was from a strict upbringing and that she was a convent girl who dated her first boyfriend after high school and it was an emotionally abusive relationship.

Reeva was very much against abuse to women and she moved from P.E to escape her boyfriend. She then went out with another guy named Wayne who was described as nice but he did not want the same things that she did. They split up and Reeva moved to Cape Town for a while and then back to Johannesburg.

Kim and Reeva were very close and when she met Oscar she described him as being shy and everything went wrong with their order in a restaurant, Oscar was agitated. He got up to take a phone call and when Kim asked how it was going, Reeva replied, "But yes, we must talk."

Kim never got to hear what that was all about.

The entire family was in tears in the courtroom and Kim told the court of how much love Reeva had for her family. She also said that Barry, Reeva's dad has suffeed three strokes after the tragedy.

Yesterday in the Courtroom after a long and overdrawn case, the defence brought in witnesses to show that Oscar is a decent citizen and as Masipa stated she would sentence someone to use them for good in the community.

Pistorius psychologist said that he showd that he was sorry and that he saw a life with Reeva Steenkamp in it.

Nel also mentioned that Oscar had also seen a life with Samantha Taylor, an ex girlfriend that has now had her mom publish a book on his character and how she feared for her daughter's life whilst dating the paralympian.

The other witnesses were his manager and a prison social worker. His manager Piet van Zyl had a file of charity work that Oscar has volunteered to do in the past and he also showed that all of his sponsorships and work has been taken away from him.

The social worker suggested that Pistorius get correctional supervision as he stays at home because he has suffered a punishment by losing his girlfriend.

Nel and the State were not satisfied with that answer and the sentencing will continue with the state bringing in their witnesses to complete the sentencing.

Judge Masipa ruled out murder and has told the court that Pistorius is guilty of culpable homicide. He is not a flight risk and was released on bail in the care of his Uncle Arnold Pistorius.

The sentencing will take place on the 13th October 2014 where South Africa and the world awaits the decision.

Culpable homicide can have a suspended sentence or a maximum of 15 years in jail but we will see what happens in October.

Reeva Steenkamps parents have said that there will be a civil case against Pistorius when this trial is over and according to newspapers, the State wants to see that justice is served and might proceed to appeal the decision.

Either way, many lives have been destroyed and only Oscar knows the real truth.

Whether he got away with murder or not, life eventually sets the balance right and guilty or not guilty, karma will prevail.

Judge Masipa went through the entire case from the State's evidence and then moving onto the defence evidence.

As Oscar heard her say that he would not be charged for premeditated murder, with tears in his eye's had a sigh of relief.

Masipa is known for making fair decisions and her judgements have always been hard sentences to those that deserve it.

Oscar cannot be charged with premeditated murder as the evidence was circumstancial and not factual.

He can however, be charged with culpable homicide as the judge said would be a competent verdict.

The claim that he thought he shot an intruder and that the person behind the locked door was the deceased is irrelevant to his case.

Masipa went through the evidence and said that Pistorius's testimony would not be accepted as he did not listen to the questions and that he was emotionally traumatised and under medication.

The food found in Reeva's stomach also could not be validated as evidence as it was inconclusive along with the messages on the phones which did not show intent to kill.

The fact that Steenkamp had her phone in a locked toilet could mean a number of things and the testimony given by two witnesses, Burger and Johnson, although not dishonest, was not evidence enough as it was what they heard and did not see.

The final judement will be 12th September and if Oscar is found guilty of culpable homicide, he could get a suspended sentence or 15 years in prison.

The closing argument is when the two attorneys get to conclude their evidence and prevent it to the judge who will then make a decision.

Nel's closing argument to me was a little weak and he could have said so much more but he didn't. He stated the facts and said that Oscar had two lines of defence which was not possible and that the court should accept one or the other.

Pistorius tailored is version of events to suit the court as he got himself into a corner with all the lies that he spoke. He could not blame his defence team as it was his own doings.

The witnesses heard noises bit Pistorius didn't and the lights were seen on after witnesses heard shouting or arguing.

Nel says that this throws Oscar's version of events out the window.

Gerrie Nel told the court that his witnesses would have no reason to come to court to lie as they did not even know Pistorius.

He also said that Oscar is a person that cannot take responsibility for his actions and that he see's himself as the victim blaming everyone, including his own defence team.

Roux also started his argument and said that the State had not factual evidence.

Day 36 of the Oscar trial started with the cross examination of Peet van Zyl. He did not answer questions and made Gerrie Nel frustrated.

Day 37 was the witness Professor Wayne Derman who is Oscar's physician. Nel asked him if Oscar had told him that he had heard a noise in the toilet and Wayne responded that Oscar had not told him that the magazine rack had moved but there was a sound. He then retracted that to say that he could not recall if Oscar had told him that there was a noise.

Gerrie drilled him about why he could not give direct answers and eventually suggested that the physician was biased.

Derman had spoken to Doctor Fines who was the defence psychiatrist and they had agreed that 70 on a psychometric test was average and if it had been 71 it would have been a different story for Oscar.

Gerrie replied that not even psychiatrists were qualified to comment on psychometric tests and that Derman was not qualified to comment on Oscar's psychological state.

Carla Kotze the state psychiatrist disagreed and considered Pistorius to be normal without anxiety disorders.

At that time Roux wanted to call up the state psychiatrist which Judge Masipa denied as she said that it was not for the state or defence to call her up.

Nel also asked Derman if Oscar had been able to run on his stumps and if he had seen this, also if he could run without holding onto the wall but Derman could not recall or answer the question.

The leaked video of Oscar Pistorius reenacting the night at his Uncle's home in Pretoria was shown in Australia and sold by the "evidence room" which was hired by Pistorius to do a reenactment of the crime. They did not bring up the video into court and Roux said that the video was leaked and was a breech of the family's privacy.

Day 39 Roux said that the witnesses they called refused to testify due to media and that the defence would now close their case.

The closing arguments will be done on the 30th July for the state and the 4th August for the defence. The arguments will then be heard in court on the 7th and 8th August where Judge Masipa will go and evaluate and then finally make a decision on whether Oscar Pistorius is innocent or guilty of the 3 charges he has pleaded not guilty to.

Some interesting background from South African journalist and radio presenter David O'Sullivan on why Pistorius' room-mate in London in 2012 moved out of their shared accommodation. The full article is here. And here's the relevant section:

At the London Games, I was chatting to Oscar’s roommate in the Athletes’ Village, Arnu Fourie, who had just won the bronze medal in the 100m, edging his good friend Oscar out of the medals. Oscar was genuinely elated at his mate’s success. They were obviously very close and I asked Fourie what it was like rooming with Oscar.

He told me he had been forced to move out, because Oscar was constantly screaming in anger at people on the phone. I thought Fourie was joking and waited for him to smile. But he was serious. I was taken aback. I had never thought of Oscar behaving like that.

The defence called in Piet Van Zyl who is Oscar's manager and the state was not aware of this witness being called to the stand.

Court was adjourned early today so that the state could look through the report and prepare for this witness as they were not informed about him being called.

Van Zyl was asked to describe Oscar's character and he mentioned that Pistorius would always ask who was at the door if someone knocked on it, he would sit in a restaurant facing the entrance and he appeared to have a sense of awareness.

Gerrie Nel questioned van Zyl and asked if Oscar had ever taken one of his other girlfriends overseas as van Zyl had mentioned that Oscar was serious about Reeva and wanted her to see his world. Van Zyl said no but Gerrie brought to his attention that Samantha Taylor had gone overseas with Oscar too.

He also asked him about an incident that happened at the Olympics where a fellow roommate asked to leave the room that he was sharing with Pistorius due to his temper tantrums on the phone. Van Zyl could not answer about the question and had no idea why the other Olympics teammate wanted to leave.

Gerrie was getting irritated that Oscar's manager could not answer simple and direct questions and will continue to cross examine tomorrow.

The Oscar trial started again after a 30 day evaluation as an outpatient and reports were concluded in a testimony handed to the court on Monday 30th June 2014. It proved that Oscar is fit to stand trial and that he does not have a mental disorder.

The evaluation also determined that Pistorius was of sound mind on the night of the crime and could establish right from wrong.

Day 34 in court started off with the report allowing the case to continue.

The first witness called in was an acoustic engineer, Simon Lin. He was asked to determine if screams from the house could have been determined from several metres away and after a long and detailed explanation Lin suggested that grass, wind and other factors could either allow for others to hear the screams or not.

Gerrie Nel cross examined Lin and after an entire day it was determined that Lin had not measured the sound with the bathroom window open, nor considered the witnesses windows or doors and he also measured the sound with new homes that have since intervened between the Oscar home and the witnesses homes.

Masipa was disturbed by the fact that the extension chord which was in photographic evidence has been lost and has demanded an answer from whomever sealed off the home.

Oscar sat in court appearing relaxed and when proceedings finished for the day, put a pen into his top pocket and left the courtroom.

Oscar will start his evaluation from the 26th May 2014 until the return of his trial on the 30th June 2014.

He will be an "out" patient and will start his evaluation from 9:30am until 16:00 or until the superintendent excuses him for the day.

A state psychiatrist as well as one for the defence will be there and the Weskoppies psychiatrist, Dr Herman Pretorius will determine whether Oscar knew what he was doing on the night of the tragedy.

That's all for now and we will return on the 30th June.

Judge Masipa has agreed to an evaluation which means that Oscar will have to go to a state hospital for 30 days.

She made this ruling to have a fair trial and to see that justice is served.

Roux and Nel are going to come back into court on Tuesday 20th May 2014 to discuss whether Pistorius will be an in or out patient.

Oscar will be going to Weskoppies public psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Pretoria.

This does not really make much of a difference as the psychiatric and mental evaluations will show his mental state either way.

In South African law sending an accused for a psychiatric evaluation has to be done if the defendants psychiatrist has suggested signs of a mental illness. The accused is forced to spend 30 days in a state hospital for the evaluation.

If the defendant is not fit to stand trial due to a mental illness, the charges are withdrawn and the accused is sent to a state hospital indefinitely.

In this case the defendant is not tried and convicted of the original charge but will automatically be found guilty and treated as dangerous on release from the state hospital.

This could be good for the prosecution in that they will be able to prove that it was premeditated as there would be intent to kill with a mental illness.

Should the evaluation go differently then Oscar will resume standing trial in 30 days and the defence team would keep the plea of not guilty for the judge to decide.

Cross examination by Nel and then Roux will continue with his re - cross examination of defence psychiatrist Meryl Vorster, who has worked in a state mental hospital.

Nel asked Vorster if she is sure that Oscar has a mental disorder and she said that he does and it will get worse in time. She agreed that he should not own a gun as he will be dangerous.

She also said that Oscar described shooting at the noise which goes against his defence.

Nel said that the court cannot decide whether Oscar has a mental illness and that should be decided by an outside professional. He then said that it was strange that the defence would bring in this witness at the very end to describe his mental state and that when Masipa makes her judgement on whether Oscar should go for evaluation or not, she needs to consider why the defence have chosen this now.

Vorster also stated that certain events showed that Oscar could act responsibly, she also said that anxiety disorder was not one to have a referral.

Nel's fear is that the defence might at a later stage try to use the illness as a means to appeal should they loose and this was confirmed as Roux said that they might use this at a later stage.

Nel then brought up other cases, including one that he was involved in, letting the judge know that the court might be blamed later on for not giving the illness attention.

He stated that a psychiatrist called at the end of the evidence is usually due to the defence trying to diminish responsibility and that the timing should be considered.

Roux also said that they might bring the application for evaluation later on, which leads Nel to believe that the state is on the right track with their thinking that defence will use it later to render Oscar irresponsible due to illness.

He handed Masipa the application for an evaluation and she will give her answer tomorrow morning.

Interesting when Roux was questioning Vorster he said that Oscar had the bat against his bedroom door and that the door was locked but Judge Masipa interrupted and said that the door was broken which Roux stumbled with and had to get the information from the state, saying that the bedroom door lock was not working properly.

Wolmarans will return to the stand today as Gerrie Nel continues with cross examination. Wolmarans was asked to bring in photo evidence of Oscar demonstrating the cricket bat at his Uncle Arnold's Pretoria home.

Wolmarans is cross examined again by Nel, who has looked at the photographic evidence. He asks what the paper is and Wolmarans says that it is gun residue which contradicts Dixon's testimony saying that it was splinters.

He also said that he did not see how the smooth magazine rack could have caused striations on Reeva Steenkamps back, he also agreed that she did not fall straight down.

Wolmarans also stated that he had not noitced the magazine rack when at the scene of the crime and did not consider it to be important.

Nel asked about a photo that was taken by Dixon and Wolmarans could not remember when and why it was taken.

Roux came back to re examine Wolmarans and he asked if he agreed with the states ricochetting bullet theory, Wolmarans said no.

The next witness is Doctor Meryl Vorster a specialist psychiatrist. She assessed Oscar and spoke to family and friends after the incident.

She said that Oscar was forced to be normal when in fact he was not and could have been stressful to try to keep up the appearance of being normal. He was also sociable but bullied at school, his mother was his primary attachement figure and his father was not present.

His mother abused alcohol and this caused more anxiety for the children. His brother Carl, was often the one to take care of siblings.

Oscar was traumatised by the death of his mother which created more anxiety.

Vorster said that Oscar has an anxiety disorder and that his training helped him cope with some of it.

Oscar would shy away from relationships to avoid showing his stumps in order to appear normal. Other siblings also seemed as though they have issues.

She said that he is on treatment for depression (social worker) said she tested for drugs and found no trace.

Vorster said that he frequently expressed guilt for Reeva's death.

Nel questioned whether the disorder could affect Oscar's ability to understand right from wrong and Vorster said that it could not.

She also said that the court would have to take into account that Oscar would react differently to other people in the situation that he was in. He is a fighter not a flyer.

Nel took out a law book and said that if the defence are suggesting that there is a disorder or mental illness, that there should be an evaluation ordered by the court.

Vorsters first evaluation of Oscar was after his testimony in court in May.

Nel asked if the factors might have effected his capacity to act and Vorster said that it could.

She said that his anxiety is increasing and Nel stated that this could be a danger to society, which Vorster replied to with a yes.

Vorster said that Oscar showed a form of intent to murder.

Roux tried to object and Judge Masipa also agreed that the disorder seemed to be an illness. Nel will wait for the judge to decide whether Pistorius must be evaluated for mental illness and they will return tomorrow for further questioning before they make the application.

The next witness on the stand was

Wolmarans will be back on the stand first and Nel has to cross examine.

Roux stated that the defence will rest most probably on Tuesday next week.

This morning started with Wolmarans again being questioned by Roux about his evidence stating that his forensic findings on the bullet holes did not match with Mangena's.

Nel cross examined Wolmaran's and at the end of a very long cross examination the findings were that Mangena's evidence could be right, the magazine rack was where Dixon and Mangena said that it was from police photo's.

Nel informed Wolmarans that Oscar's evidence was that the magazine rack was not there and Wolmaran's stated that according to the photo's from the crime scene, he had to agree with the state. He also first said that the bullet hole B could not link to E and Mangena showed in court that it could. Later Wolmarans said that it could be possible and also stated that he did not think Reeva fell the way that it was said, also the markings on her back were not from the bullet and was also later shown evidence different to his.

Wolmarans mentioned that he was at Oscar Pistorius's Uncle Arnold's home to do sound tests with the bat and Oscar did the motions. Nel asked if there was a report or photographic evidence of this and Wolmarans said that he does have it and will produce it to the court in stills as Oscar hits the bat.

He stated that he is not a sound expert and when the tests were done, he could not understand the report, he also only had one dated report which was written after Dixon and state evidence was produced in court.

When Nel questioned evidence produced by Wolmarans it was not very clear as to whether his evidence was strong enough but with the tests on the trajectory of the bullets, he too used a laser but came close to Mangena's findings but disagreed with the bruising being caused by a bullet.

Wolmarans also said that he had a beer with Dixon after he testified but they did not talk about the case and he was also told that previous evidence that he had produced in an earlier case was rejected by the court.

The trial will be over soon and so far witnesses for the defence are not helping Oscar's version of events.

So far it seems as though the defence team are reaching for desperate attempts to try and make Oscar look innocent. The witnesses up to date for the defence have not yet helped Pistorius much, with the latest witnesses who woke up to a crying and a bang.

None of them actually heard gun shots or the cricket bat and the only witness that sounded as though he knew what he was talking about was the forensics scientist, who contradicted Oscar's statement.

Today the trial started with Professor Lundgren, Phd in deaths due to anaesthesia, she is not a forensic scientist.

She did not want to criticise the work of the forensic pathologist and said that he was entitled to his opinion.

Lundgren, angry in tone communicated that she did not think Reeva ate before she died but could not disagree with the forensic pathologist.

She was asked many questions and could answer thoroughly but Nel questioned her with further information that he obviously researched well.

At the end of everything that was said today by the witness, the final result was that she could not disagree with Professor Simon, who even knew what Reeva had eaten.

Lundgren was also said that in her report she showed that food would have to have been eaten at least six hours before death and Nel also quized her on that, which she then said that many factors could delay digestion and interestingly enough said that Reeva was pre - menapausal.

Nel gave Lundgren an opportunity to defend her report and oppose Simon's findings but answered that she could not and would leave it up to the court. A very annoying and frustrating morning.

The second witness for the day was Yvette van Schalkwyk worked as a social worker and has been seeing Oscar after the tragic night.

Nel objected to the evidence given as he said it was not relevant but the judge allowed it as Roux said it was information from an independent source.

She said that Oscar was genuinly sorry in the mourning of Reeva's death, he suffered emotionally and cried 80% of the time. He has no drugs in his system and was reacting normally to an abnormnal conditions.

Nel asked if he had told her that he shot Reeva and she replied that he didn't. She did not perform any emotional tests on Oscar and did not expect him to apologise for what he did.

Roux again stood up for the second time after cross examination to correct information given by the witnesses but both witnesses so far have empty information.

The final witness for the day was Tom Wolmarans a ballistics expert who is not trained in crime scene and analysis but fingerprints and ammunition.

Although he examined the scene of the crime in protective gear, he is at the end of the day also not qualified in crime scenes. Again the defence clutching at straws?

He did find a fragment of the bathroom tile in the toilet and kept a piece of wood from the toilet door in his care.

Wolmarans did describe the action of the gun and I found it interesting that he said that you needed to reload and how fast you shoot depends on your reflexes.

Reconstruction of the door could have effected the trajectory and he also did tests but not with the exact gun or bullets that Oscar used.

Splinters around a bullet hole did not match the wounds on Reeva's arm, which surely Nel will question.

Wolmarans also said that it was not possible to determine the sequence of shots or the position of the body but also stated that Reeva's was in an upright position, facing the door at least 6 to 20cm away. (The state also said this)

Court adjourned and will be back in the morning.

A short day in court this morning with witness Michael Nhlengethwa, the closest neighbour to Oscar Pistorius testified that Pistorius was the first person to welcome his family to the estate when they moved in. They were not friends but friendly neighbours.

Michael said that his balcony is 25 metres away from Oscar's home and he had met Reeva once where she gave him a big hug and Nhlengethwa heard of Oscar's plan to move to Johannesburg to be closer to Reeva.

He was woken up by his wife who had heard a bang and he thought it might have been inside their home. He checked on his family and then heard a man crying.

He was not sure of who it was that was crying but it was high pitched and desperate. He heard the words "No, please, no."

He called the security to go and check and then heard more crying in a lower tone, he knew it was Oscar's home so he went to check if everything was okay.

He was asked by police to give a statement and he refused because the policeman was too casual. He was then asked again by two other police and he refused and told them to make an appointment.

Eventually Captain Van Aardt, seemed to be professional and he then gave the statement to him.

Nel said that he had also questioned Michael and his wife about the tragedy and that he was not going to have much to say but he questioned whether the couple heard a bang or shots and Michael said they did not.

He also did not hear screams but Nel found it interesting that Oscar had said in his statement he screamed loud.

The witness also testified that he has been following the case on television and Nel had no further questions.

The second witness was Michael's wife Eontle Nhlengethwa who is a housewife. She was woken up by a loud sound and she then asked her husband to check. She heard someone crying loudly, "help, help, help."

Nel asked if she only heard one bang and if she had heard any gun shots but she said that she did not and that it was a man crying for help.

Nel suggested that it could have been the second sounds from the cricket bat that she heard and Roux objected due to time frame of phone calls.

Eontle admitted that she has been at home watching the case every day.

Nel had no further questions.

The third witness took a while to get to court and they adjourned for a half hour in order to wait for the witness.

Rika Motshuane lives right next door to Pistorius on the other side. She woke up to crying and then woke her husband and they heard the dogs barking.

They were told to make a statement and Nel asked if she has been following the trial on television and she admitted that she has been.

All she heard was a man crying and then they called the security and they told them that the situation was being dealt with.

Nel had no further questions and court adjourned as Roux said that he was embarrassed that he did not realise Nel would ask so few questions and there were no witnesses called for the remainder of the day.

Court adjourned until Thursday morning and Roux expects to be finished with the defence by Tuesday next week.

Johan Stander was called to the stand today and he told the court that Pistorius called him asking for help as he had shot Reeva. He then told the court that he did not hear the shots, he arrived at Pistorius's home 3mins after the call with his daughter.

When they got there Pistorius was coming down the stairs carrying Reeva.

Johan Stander asked the security to call an ambulance. He also said that he often used to look after Pistorius's dogs when he was away and he had met Reeva before.

Stander was asked by Nel if he knew of any security breaches in the estate and Stander knew of four but Nel said that it was heresay evidence as it was not reported and one of the incidents took place in one of Pistorius's friends home. The burglars used a ladder to get into the building. Nel did not see this as evidence.

He also asked Stander if he could see Oscar's facial expression and Stander said that he could as the lights in his home were on.

Johan Stander said that he and Oscar were not friends and that they never socialised but Pistorius often came over for coffee.

Nel also said that the estate would have to have been safe as there were no burglar bars on his home and his daughter slept with her balcony door open on the night.

Stander also said that he saw Oscar's phone on charge in the kitchen when he arrived, whilst Pistorius was carrying Reeva downstairs.

He also said that Pistorius was trying to vomit but nothing was coming out.

Johan Stander also said that he was convinced that Stipp had heard the gunshots and screams.

Nel also questioned why Stander had changed his story to suggest that Pistorius had said that he had made a mistake but Stander said that he assumed that it was just a mistake and Oscar did not tell him that.

Nel adjourned and interestingly enough got confirmation from defence witness that the states first witness, Stipp had been correct with his testimony hearing gunshots and screams.

One of the assessors to the judge asked Stander if Reeva had access to the alarm and if she knew how to use it, Stander said that she did as she stayed there whilst Oscar was away.

Carice Stander was called as the second witness today.

She went to bed early on the night of Reeva's death and woke up to hear someone screaming for help.

Carice got up from her bed as her dogs were barking and the neighbourhood dogs began to do the same.

She closed her balcony door and returned to bed but the saw her parents lights on and that is when she got up to let them know that she had heard cries for help.

Her father confirmed that he ahd received a call from Oscar and both Carice and her father went to the home of Pistorius.

She also told the court that she had often gone to Oscar for coffee.

When they arrived at Oscar's home they saw the security guard and Frank the man that worked for Oscar (has not been called as a wtiness) they got to the front door and it was open.

Carice in an emotional state told the court that she saw Pistorius carrying Reeva down the stairs and she begged him to put her down but Pistorius was telling Carice to take Reeva to a hospital.

Carice cried whilst telling the court how she begged Pistorius to put Reeva down so that they could see what was wrong.

She then told the court that she went upstairs to get towels and asked Oscar for tape and black bags for her to stop the blood.

Carice ran upstairs and took the towels from the cupboard, she then asked Pistorius to help her tie the towels tight in order to stop the blood.

The paramedics arrived and they stepped aside for them to work on her.

She then used Pistorius's phone which was in the kitchen, on charge to make calls to his friend, manager and brother.

Nel asked Carice if the police escorted her and Oscar's sister into the room to get his clothes and Carice said that the police never left them there alone. Aimee, Oscar's sister took a watch and packed his clothes.

Carice was also shown a photo of the linen cupboard and this was a photo that the police had taken, Carice confirmed that she had left the towel on the floor and the photo was how she had left the scene.

She said the kitchen light was on, the cellphone was on charge and Nel asked if he could follow her instructions, which Carice confirmed that he did.

Carice also told the court that she went home to change and returned to help Aimee pack.

She did not speak about the case with Pistorius but did go and visit him at the police station with her dad (who told the court that he only saw Oscar at the memorial service.)

Nel had nothing further and asked to see Roux and the judge in private.

Roux had no further questions for Carice and his two witnesses could not make court today.

They adjourned until tomorrow morning.

Forensic geologist will be called back onto the witness stand today to show his photographic evidence and other reports that Nel had asked him for.

Again he did not have all the reports and Dixon said that he had written notes and taken mental pictures of what he saw.

He also told the court that Reeva fell onto the magazine rack which would have been on the left of the toilet (contradicting Pistorius saying it was not there.)

Roger Dixon said that Reeva was shot by four bullets and not three.

The bullet trajectory was not measured with a laser but with a tape measure and the photo of the bathroom from the street, taken by Dixon was also questioned as to why the man in the picture was not kneeling at the same height of Pistorius but Dixon replied that there would have been a 20cm difference and that was not what he was there to investigate.

Nel also asked how Dixon knew that the witness board would be shown by the evidence in chief and he wanted to know who told him that but Dixon could not answer and it was assumed that he had discussions with the defence before the trial.

Dixon was asked about the test done on the prosthesis used on the night, where it was taken from and if he had done tests on any of the other doors but Dixon said that he did not do any tests on any other doors and that he still has the piece of prosthesis in custody.

The test on prosthesis was to see if the varnish matched the toilet door and it was done in the university laboratory with the same equipment used by the police.

Nel had no further questions after a long day of ramblings and Roux came up to ask a few more.

He handed the court a photo which he did not want shown on camera (post mortem) and asked Dixon about marks that he had seen which only appeared on the 14th.

The court case will continue on the 5th May 2014 at 9:30am and the first witness will be the evidence in chief.

Barry Roux is going to revive Oscar's 7 day court appearance as a witness with forensics geologist Roger Dixon.

Judge Masipa has granted a postponement after tomorrow until the 5th May 2014.

Forensics geologist was asked by Roux to explain the trajectory of the bullets and how the marks on Reeva's back were not caused by a bullet but by falling onto the magazine rack.

They went into technical details of great length and then went onto the sound of the cricket bat test and gun test that was done.

After Roux came Nel with questions and concern about evidence and his findings leaving the witness angry and frustrated after finding that Dixon had not been present for the one sound test that had been done by the defence team.

He was also not present at the post mortem and agreed that he was given a scenario and had to find the logical explanation for the events to have occurred.

He had spoken to the Oscar Pistorius before the trial to ask him how he was standing and what happened when he hit with the bat.

Nel also asked Dixon when the first time it was that he examined the toilet door and Dixon said that he had based most of his findings on the reports and photographic evidence that he had been given. He also said that he took photographs of the toilet door in court at the beginning of the trial due to the good light.

Nel questioned whether the sock evidence that he had tested was not possibly the mutton cloth used by the cleaners of the court, after they cleaned the door for the court proceedings but Dixon said that he had already taken photographs before.

Gerrie Nel also asked if Dixon had physically examined the sock from Oscar's prosthesis and Dixon replied that he had not physically touched the socks but was given evidence from the defence council.

Dixon did not know how the tests for the gun sounds were done and did not receive the final report but decimal tests were not done and they could not say what equipment was used.

The first test that had been done with the gun had problems with firing and they did not use the black talon ammunition.

Nel found out that there were two tests done and Dixon was unaware of the second.

A picture that was shown in court had been cropped and Nel has asked Dixon to bring in all his photographic evidence tomorrow for the state to take a look at.

Nel then asked Dixon to open the autopsy report and Dixon opened it with a "what?"

He was surprised and Nel wanted that noted and then told Dixon that it was irresponsible to arrive to the high court without having read the entire document and trying to be an expert when he was not.

Court adjourned so that Nel could read Dixon's report and Dixon was asked to bring sound recordings, photographs and full reports to the court.

The trial started off today with Oscar having to go through the events of the night of 13th February 2013. He continued speaking about what he did when he got his gun and how the gun was held while going through the passage.

Nel questioned why Oscar never wrote in his statement that he had heard the window in the bathroom and the toilet door slam, but Oscar said that he never wrote the statement and that his council wrote it and he just signed.

Nel also questioned why the amplifier was still on and why the other lights did not bother him but Oscar was shaky and had no reply.

Once they went through the passage he said that he shouted out "Get the f*** out of my house" a few times and then asked Reeva to call the police. He did not hear her reply and Nel suggested that it was because Oscar was chasing Reeva and telling her to get out.

Oscar cried a few times today and when he did not have an answer for something he broke down, which Nel said does not help him very much.

Nel also questioned why Oscar never heard the door lock and Oscar also mentioned that he heard the magazine rack, which Nel then suggested that Pistorius fired through knowing that whomever was there was near the magazine rack.

A question as to why Reeva's slops where on his side of the bed, if she was aware that she would be sleeping on the other side and also why everything was packed in her bag, except for the jeans.

Nel asked why Pistorius did not fire a warning shot and also why Reeva would be standing at the position that she was standing in but Oscar could not answer.

He also said that he told his legal team a lot of things that were not put into the bail application but Roux and the team did not object or get up to argue.

The picture of the toilet was shown to the court where the first shot was aimed at the toilet and Nel said that Oscar must have heard that Reeva fell onto the magazine rack which is where his second shot was aimed but Oscar said he never heard anything.

Nel asked why Oscar was emotional when describing what he had said to the intruders and Pistorius replied it was because he was traumatised by the event and Nel suggested it was because he was shouting at Reeva to get out.

Oscar was also asked why Reeva didn't switch on the light and Oscar said that maybe she had used her cellphone for the light but then Pistorius would have seen that, which doesn'y help his case.

He checked behind the curtains for Reeva and never checked the balcony and also had the gun in his hands whilst doing so.

The Stipps saw the bathroom light on but Oscar said that he doesn't remember when the lights went on.

Nel asked how Pistorius managed to open the balcony doors while holding the gun and Oscar could not answer, getting emotional again.

The state has many questions that still need to be answered about the toilet and will continue tomorrow.

The cross examination of a very stressed out Oscar Pistorius continued today as he had to describe his emotions, thought process and actions during the toilet tragedy.

There were a few inconsistencies in his story as Nel pointed out and proved with photographic evidence that the magazine rack which was in the bathroom had not moved as Oscar said that it did.

Oscar told the court that the magazine rack had been moved by the police and that there was no blood found on it as he described seeing it when he smashed open the toilet door. He told the court that it was on the right side of the toilet and that it had been moved and then suggested that he must have kicked the rack when he sat with Reeva.

He could not remember doing that and Nel pointed out more blood that did not make sense according to Oscar's version, which Oscar replied must have been his sock as he picked Reeva up ( contradicting his version that the rack was on the right, where he said his sock mark was.)

Oscar was also asked about Reeva's phone being in the bathroom and he told the court that it was on but he could not use it as there was a password.

He then ran to his bedroom to get his phones which were on the left of the bed also contradicting why there would have been no blood after he was in the bathroom holding Reeva.

Nel asked why Oscar screamed before he shot through the door and not when he saw that it was Reeva as this would have been a normal reaction but Pistorius couldn't answer.

He was also questioned as to why he carried his cellphone as well as Reeva in the state of panic and then still had time to put it on charge.

The photo showing the magazine rack had blood on it which contradicted Pistorius yet again.

Nel said that Reeva was found there and that is why there was a pool of blood around the leg of the rack but Pistorius disagreed.

Nel also said that he thinks that Pistorius has taylored his evidence to suit the court and what everyone around him has said and that they believe and Nel then said that he believes that Pistorius's version is untrue and improbable and that will be their argument.

Pistorius could also not say who was to blame for the tragedy.

Roux came back to correct some of the words that Pistorius used but it was a failed attempt at making Pistorius seem as though he did not understand or mean things the way that they cme out.

The next witness called to the stand was forensic expert Roger Dixon, who worked for the South African police up until 2012, where Colonel Vermeulen took over his position.

He did a test for darkness in the room of Oscar Pistorius where he closed the curtains and said that he could not see any light except for in the passage to the bathroom.

He also said that the toilet light was not working and that they tested what the Stipps could see from their balcony by using a model in the exact same light and from what I could see, the person was visible.

He showed that the toilet was not visible unless the door was open and he also said that the door was hit with a cricket bat as well as finding a trace of Pistorius's sock on the door, indicating that he kicked the door with prosthesis on as there was varnish found on them.

Dixon also then said that the contusions on Reeva's back were from falling on a hard surface and that the bruise on her buttocks was from falling onto the magazine rack.

He discredited Mangena's report saying that Reeva was not on the magazine rack and the bullet that went into the toilet was not the one that shot through her head if it were to be reconstructed.

Roux asked for adjournment and will continue tomorrow morning.

This morning starts with Gerrie Nel continuing on with cross examination of Oscar Pistorius.

They went through why Pistorius felt unsafe and did not report crimes that had happened to him. He mentioned a car that followed Oscar and allegedly shot at him. Nel asked if he could remember who collected Pistorius on the night and he could not remember.

Nel questioned him about his alarm system at home and asked why he did not mention in his statement that he had disarmed the alarm but Pistorius could not remember.

On safety it came out that Oscar left his cars outside and did not question why alarm system was not working at some stage, he also never checked if the ladders were away and did not fix a broken window that was in his home.

He also questioned him about an incident where Oscar approached Samantha Taylor's friend and why he did not just walk away but Oscar said that he is not the type to just walk away and wanted to work things out by confrontation.

Nel then asked him why he has never reported anything to the police and Oscar said that he did not trust the police.

He then moved on to the fan and jeans on the floor. Nel said that the jeans were on top of the duvet which meant that if the police had moved anything the jeans would have been under the duvet which would make Oscar's version of events improbable.

When asked about the fans Oscar then said that the smaller fan was on the right of the bigger fan and that if he had moved the fan to where he said it was, the chord would not have been long enough and it would have obstructed him from getting to the window in the dark.

At this stage Pistorius was extremely shaky with his answers and Nel told him that he was hetting himself deeper into trouble by altering his version of events.

He then moved on to ask about what happened when Oscar heard the noise and questioned why he did not ask Reeva if she had heard anything or check if she was okay. Oscar said that he didn't need her confirmation and knew that he had to get his gun to protect them.

Nel stated that he did not understand how Reeva did not say anything in all this time and that Oscar's version was a made up one.

Interestingly enough Oscar said that when he heard a noise when ex girlfriend Samantha Taylor was at his home, he asked her if she heard the noise and went downstairs ( it turned out that the dogs had come into the house from outside, which means that Oscar's home was not locked then.)

He then moved on to the bathroom and asked Oscar to describe what he did there. Again Nel found it hard to believe that Reeva did not say anything. He also stated that Oscar had loaded his gun in the passage with intention to shoot whatever came at him.

Pistorius was then asked if Reeva screamed and Oscar said that she didn't but at the same time yesterday he said that he could not hear anything after the first shot as his ears were ringing.

Nel then again asked if it were possible that Reeva had screamed and Oscar agreed it could have been possible.

Pistorius also said that he thought someone kicked the door and today denied that he said that, then corrected himself and explained that he is tired. The judge asked if he was too tired to continue and Pistorius said no and they continued on. Each time he had no answer he blamed it on making a mistake.

Nel asked Oscar why he didn't hear Reeva get up but he heard the bathroom window and Oscar said that he was fixated on the noise in the bathroom.

Once they discussed the bathroom, Oscar said that he heard wood or someone trying to come out of the toilet and that's when he fired.

Nel asked Oscar why he did not put in his application that he spoke to Reeva on the night and Oscar said that he could not explain why.

Oscar was asked how he saw the bathroom window open if it was dark and Oscar said that there was ambiant light from outside.

There were a few apologies for mistakes made by Oscar today and Nel told the court that his version was untrue and that is why he had to try and keep up with the story.

They continue on Monday at 9:30

This morning started off with Pistorius describing the events of the tragic night. He said that he opened the toilet door and it looked as though Reeva was sitting on the toilet bowl. He picked her up and it looked as though she had not been breathing for a while. Her arm was broken and he couldn't pick her up so he dragged her out of the toilet and put her gently onto the carpet. He picked up her phone which was in the bathroom and tried to call but it he did not have the password. He then went to the bedroom and got his two phones which he then called "Stander" with. He called the emergency number and at this time Reeva was struggling to breath. He did not recall phoning the security "Baba" and he then ran downstairs to open the front door.

On the way back to his room he tried to force the door open as there were two doors to his room. He went back to the bathroom and got Reeva. He did not recall carrying her some of the way and on the second flight of stairs saw the "Standers" arrive.

Stander told Pistorius to put Reeva down as the ambulance was on the way and he sat there trying to stop the bleeding from her hip as well as helping her to breath.

At that time Stander told Pistorius to stop the bleeding with black bags and "Stipp" came in and tried to help but Oscar said that it looked as though he did not know what he was doing. Stipp left and Oscar asked him to come back but the medics arrived at that time.

Roux asked him if he was in the kitchen and he said it was an open plan home and that he stood a few metres away. The medics asked him to get I.D and he went upstairs to collect Reeva's bag. They told him that she had passed.

Oscar was emotional and described the police coming in and he asked them if he could wash his hands as they smelt like blood. He did not recall washing his chest and the photographer asked to take pictures of him. Botha was there and asked Oscar if he remembered him. Another police officer told Oscar not to worry about anything and another officer told him that he was under arrest. Labuschagne took him to the car and they took him to Mamelodi academic hospital for tests.

A reporter from the court heard this information today and said that he was a photographer on the day that Oscar was taken away and they did not go to Mamelodi but to the Boschkop police station first.

Roux then asked Oscar what the three sounds were at 3:17am and he said that it was the noise from the cricket bat which was brought into court today for Oscar to show how he broke the door. He said that he could barely stand on his stumps and would not have been able to swing the bat without his prosthesis.

He stated that it took 5 minutes for him to kick the toilet door and then walk to the bedroom to get the bat and pry open the door.

He also had to kick with his prosthesis but kicked just above the door handle and then stated that he watched the demonstration by the forensics and agreed that it was in an unnatural way, which meant he used his entire body which he could not show in court.

He hit the door with a downward sweep of the bat.

Roux questioned witnesses that were closer to him then the others and mentioned that they heard crying and not screaming and that Oscar did not know them well.

Oscar also said that the witness that saw someone running in the bathroom would have had to have seen him with prosthesis as without he would not have been visible.

Roux asked if he intended to kill Reeva and Oscar said " he did not intend on killing Reeva or anyone else."

Gerrie Nel got up and immediately began with a grilling cross examination. He asked Oscar to agree that he was one of the most recognised faces in the world and he agreed.

Nel asked him to admit to killing Reeva which Pistorius could not do, he said that he made a mistake and Nel corrected him by saying, "no, you shot and killed someone."

Pistorius would not admit that he killed Reeva and Nel continued on to his next question. He asked if Oscar was a Christian and that he would not lie about that night or anything else. Oscar agreed that he would not lie and then Nel asked him if he knew what a "zombie stopper" was. Oscar said that he did not know what that was. Nel then asked if he was aware of the video that Sky news had released and Oscar said that he would like to see it.

Roux objected to the question and told the judge that this would be considered evidence which was not constitutional.

The judge told the court that the defence team would be allowed to look at the video and that Nel was allowed to show the video as long as it was not considered evidence.

Once they had watched the video Oscar said that he had seen the video and that the laughing in the background was not him but he did have the comments. (video on the right.)

Oscar said he did not see the relevance of the video and that comparing the shooting of a watermelon to the shooting of a human was not the same.

At that moment Nel said that he had to show this to Oscar and he needed him to take a look. A shocking photo of Reeva's shot head appeared on the court screen.

Oscar refused to look at the photo and Nel said that Oscar had seen what the gun did to the watermelon and that the gun did the same thing to Reeva.

Pistorius refused to look at the photo and told the court that he did not have to look at the photo as he remembered touching her head so he was aware of what happened.

Nel suggested that he did not want to look at the photo because he did not want to accept responsibility for what he did.

At this stage Pistorius broke down again and Nel asked for the court to adjourn in order for Pistorius to gather himself as he was distressed.

On their return Nel asked Pistorius if he was telling his version of the truth or if it was reconstruction from what he had heard others say and Oscar began to say it was his version and then altered it to say that some of it was reconstructed.

Pistorius told Nel that his version of events had not changed since the bail hearing and that he was sticking to his statement and that the state's version has changed many times. Nel told him that he is argumentative instead of just being able to answer the questions.

After going through the statement, Pistorius agreed that things had been left out by his council and not him as they wrote the statement for him and told him that detailed information was not necessary.

Nel picked out errors of information in his bail application and told Pistorius that he had said that he was on the balcony when he heard noises in the bathroom, when in fact he was not on the balcony.

Pistorius had an answer for everything as a defence machanism, almost sounding like an attorney. Nel told him that it was dangerous to answer questions with planned answers in his head and that he was to just simply answer his questions.

Gerrie Nel pointed out inconsistencies in the bail statement and Pistorius agreed that he was not on the balcony but inside and said that he was not present when the statement was written and that his defence team were to blame for the error.

Nel moved on and stated that Pistorius pleaded "not guilty" due to tampering of evidence at the scene and Pistorius said that he did not plea that way due to tampering but because he was not guilty of what they had charged him with.

Nel asked him if the scene was tampered with and where but Oscar could not reply for himself and said that witnesses and teams would testify to that later.

He was not aware of who would be testifying and then later gave a name and also said that he was not aware of discussions with his team about tampering but he then said that he sat in on a few meetings where they went through photo's and times.

He also mentioned that they reworked the evidence and revoked that word and said that he did not mean to say that but Nel said that it was interesting that he did mention "reworked evidence."

He was shown a photo of his room from the night and he could not remember anything as he was under pressure and he explained that it was difficult to sit there.

Nel could not understand how the fans in Pistorius's room were plugged in if there was only one extension and he said that it was not irrelevant to the case but it was to show that Pistorius was lying. He would have tripped over the chord if he ran to the balcony.

Nel continued on to ask about the shooting and Oscar said that the discharge of his gun was accidental as he was afraid of the noise in the toilet. He said that he did not intend on shooting anyone but he was afraid and he shot out of fear that the intruders were coming after him.

Nel asked if the gun went off accidentally and Oscar said that what happened was an accident and he shot before he had time to think.

At this stage he began to break down again and said that he did not have time to think about shooting or not shooting and Nel said that the court would not accept that.

Pistorius said that when he shot he thought someone was coming after him and before thinking he fired four shots out of fear.

Nel again read from Pistorius's bail application saying that he felt trapped in his locked bedroom and out of fear fired four shots at the toilet door. Pistorius replied that he never said that he didn't do it but that it was not deliberate.

Court adjourned after that and will continue tomorrow. June Steenkamp was aware of the photo that would be shown today and agreed that Oscar needed to see it.

Pistorius family was upset at the way that the questions were relayed and that it was distasteful for them to show the photo of Reeva. Nel believed that it had to be shown as this was a murder trial afterall and Oscar needed to see it in order to own up and take responsibility.

This morning started off with Nel questioning Pistorius about the messages from the phone and one in particular was where Reeva had said that she was scared of him. Pistorius told the court that he didn't see how she would have been scared and also that she exaggerated some of the message as she was upset on the day.

It went on and Nel painted a picture of Oscar to be mean and selfish only thinking of him and how things effected him, not taking blame for anything.

His apology was also questioned as to why he had done it in court rather than to the family away from the public eye and Pistorius said that the family had been approached and were not ready to speak to him. Nel said that he wanted to make a spectacle in front of the media.

At one point Pistorius was put to the test and almost said that Reeva had lied on her message but then took that back.

He also denied shooting the gun at the restaurant where witness Darren Fresco had said that he had taken the blame for Oscar accidentally shooting.

Oscar did not say that he shot the gun and after a long cross examination finally said that he and Darren were in the wrong but stuck with the story that he did not pull the trigger.

Nel again said that Oscar could not take the responsibility for anything.

The Vaal incident where he shot out of the sunroof was also denied and he said that he never fired the shot and couldn't remember that day. What he did remember of the day was also cross examined in detail showing Oscar as a negligent gun owner but Pistorius did not agree that his plea of not guilty was wrong and that he would stick with that as in his eyes and according to his knowledge of the law, he was right.

When asked about the shots that were fired at the toilet door, Oscar said that he remembered that it was in succession and not as a double tap which was mentioned by his defence team.

Oscar accussed his defence team of making errors three times today and Nel defended Roux by saying that He would not make mistakes.

Nel also blatantly told Oscar that he was lying and caught him on one or two things but with regards to how many times he fired, Oscar said that he could not remember and went according to the evidence that was given.

Oscar also stated that he was confused with the questioning and did not understand what Nel meant by shooting accidentally. Pistorius said that he aimed at the toilet door and did not intend to shoot but the noise in the bathroom made him pull the trigger and that it was an accident.

Emotional Oscar began to cry as Nel suggested that if Oscar had waited he would not have fired and Oscar replied that if he would not have if Reeva had spoken.

After lunch Oscar had to tell his version of events that he could remember and not a reconstructed version. Nel told Oscar that he would not accept answers that had an "I can't remember" answer as the court would not accept it.

Oscar now had to explain in exact terms what the couple had done on the night of Reeva's death from the time that he got home until the time he shot.

First he told the court what they ate and what time, Nel asked if Reeva could possibly have gone downstairs without him knowing to grab a bite to eat but Oscar said no.

He then went on to ask about what they did in the bedroom and Oscar said that he was on his phone, then I.pad and Reeva was doing yoga on the floor. After that they lay in bed and Reeva showed Oscar photo's on her phone and Oscar got tired. He slept on the left side of the bed due to a shoulder injury and he lay on Reeva's stomach holding her legs and asked her to close the balcony door and bring in the fan when she went to sleep.

Oscar then said that he woke up and sat up in the bed rubbing his face as it was hot and humid. Reeva asked him if he couldn't sleep and he said no then got up to close the balcony door and bring in the fans.

Nel asked Pistorius if there was anything in the way of him closing the balcony door and Oscar said there was not. He managed to close the door with ease and with the little bit of light in the room he noticed the jeans on the floor. He did not see Reeva as he was facing the door and he couldn't hear as the fans were on and making a noise.

Oscar then said that he faced the amplifier and picked up the jeans to cover the LED light.

Nel showed Pistorius a photo of his room and asked him there was anything strange about the photo and yesterday Oscar said that was how the room was and today he said that the duvet was on the floor and it should not have been there and he didn't know how the duvet got to be on the floor.

Earlier Oscar also said that he saw Reeva in the bed with the duvet covering her feet and he was not in the duvet but when questioned again he said that he moved the duvet to get out of the bed.

Nel found this interesting as Oscar had said that it was pitch dark and he now noticed that Reeva had the duvet on her feet.

Pistorius also told Nel angrily that the police must have put the duvet on the floor as many of the photo's would show that items were moved around.

Nel told him that the photographer was the first on the scene to take the photo and the light was on but Oscar said that he never switched on the light in his panic.

Nel told Oscar to look at the photo and tell the court where everything was from his memory of the night. Pistorius told the court that the fan would have been where the duvet cover was and the other fan's chord would not have been stuck under a speaker.

Nel suggested that the balcony doors were never closed and that the light was whilst Oscar and Reeva argued about why she never brought the fans in.

Gerrie Nel also said that he believed Oscar's version to be a lie and that the police would have to have moved a lot of items without knowing what happened and that Pistorius assumed there was a conspiracy.

Nel said that Reeva screamed and ran to the bathroom but Roux objected and said that there was no evidence stating that and Nel then said that he had circumstantial evidence that witnesses had heard a female scream.

Pistorius then said that he could not categorically say that the light was off.

Nel also suggested that if they had to place the fan where Oscar had said it was supposed to be, the chord would not have reached there and Pistorius said that it would as it was not completely stretched out.

Pistorius tried to make excuses for the fan and the chord and Nel told him that he was trying and trying but decided to move on from that question.

Nel said that Oscar's version was so improbable that nobody would ever believe it was reasonably possible.

Oscar snapped at Nel when he was shown a photo of the one fan unplugged and stuck on the speaker saying that it was misleading the court.

They adjourned and will return tomorrow morning.

This morning started with messages and descriptions from Oscar of how he and Reeva Steenkamp met. Text messages that were brought forward by the state were read through and explained by Oscar.

He told the court that he could not remember shooting out of the sunroof of the car that ex girlfriend Samantha Taylor had witnessed as well as his friend Darren Fresco.

The second charge for firing a loaded gun in the restaurant, he told the court that he was angry with friend Darren Fresco for handing him a loaded weapon and that they were both in the wrong. The story that he told was different to the version given by Samantha Taylor and Darren Fresco for both incidents.

As the court went through the messages between Reeva and Oscar for almost the entire morning, Roux's team built up to the event of 13th February 2013.

Oscar was to remove his prosthesis to show the court his height without them and Roux asked him to go and stand at the toilet door which is in the courtroom.

After the break he was asked about the events of the night and he told the court that Reeva was at his home when he got there, making dinner. He noticed the valentines gift on the dining room table but was asked to open it the following day. He took Reeva to a store earlier to buy her a bracelet.

He got home from a meeting and while Reeva was making the dinner he told the court that he wad on his Ipad and then went upstairs to change.

They had dinner at about 7pm and after dinner Reeva made them a hot drink, he helped her with the dishes and then went upstairs to his room.

In his room he opened the balcony door, put two fans on and left them almost out of the room on the balcony. He closed the curtains enough to cover the fans and then proceeded to take off his prosthesis and shirt, which he put onto the prosthesis next to his bed. He sat at the end of the bed and watched television.

Reeva came upstairs with the drinks and he locked the bedroom door and put the cricket bat against the door as he said the locks were not stable.

Reeva sat upright next to him on the side that he normally sleeps on due to a shoulder injury that prevented him from sleeping on the usual side of the bed.

They watched television and he received a call from his cousin who told him that he would be coming to Johannesburg, the conversation went on for a half hour, during which time Reeva got off the bed and did yoga on the floor in the bedroom.

When his conversation ended he was extremely tired and wanted to sleep. Reeva was not ready to sleep and Oscar told her to close the balcony door and bring in the fans before she went to sleep.

He fell asleep at about 9pm and woke up again with Reeva next to him. She turned over and asked him if he was not able to sleep and he got up to close the balcony door and bring in the fans. There was an LED light on the amplifier which had a blue light that was disturbing him and he went over to pick up Reeva's jeans that were lying on the floor next to her to cover the light.

At that time he heard a noise coming from the bathroom area and immediately went to get his gun which was in a pouch under Reeva's side of the bed.

He told Reeva to call the police and moved towards the bathroom where he noticed movement coming from the bathroom window and heard the bathroom door slam which confirmed that there was someone in the house.

He told the court that he shouted for Reeva to call the police and began to shoot through the toilet door. He continued to shout out to Reeva to call the police but once he realised that there was no answer he realised that it could have been Reeva in the toilet.

Oscar ran to the room to call Reeva and had no response he ran to the balcony and shouted out for help and then ran back to the toilet where he tried to kick the door open with his prosthesis. He panicked and hit the door three times and then grabbed the frame of the toilet door and through it into the bathroom.

He then sat over Reeva's body and cried, he was not sure for how long he sat there but she was not breathing.

Court adjourned as Oscar sobbed uncontrollably and broke down in court.

Reeva's mother June Steenkamp put her head into her hands as she heard the frightful events that took place.

The Oscar trial was postponed due to one of the assessors falling ill and going to hospital. In the South African courts there is no trial by jury but there are two assessors and the judge who make the final decision. For one of them to be absent, the court is not legally constitutional and therefore have to have all three present.

Today Oscar Pistorius defence team will bring in their own pathologist Prof. Jan Botha to the stand first. Normally the defendant is the first to take the stand and this is a bit unorthodox but the pathologist has to be first for personal reasons.

The original pathologist hired by Pistorius's team was present at the autopsy and declined to be a witness as rumours were that he did not want to twist the truth. Saayman, the state pathologist said that they were both in agreement about the food matter in Reeva's stomach.

Reggie Perumal said that "what is most rewarding is when the truth is present and justice is done."

Colleagues said that he did not want to testify as he would not amend his version of findings.

The pathologist did not take part in the post mortem of Reeva Steenkamp. He read notes taken from state pathologist who did the post mortem as well as the ballistics report from the state.

Jan Botha stated that from the wounds, the first bullet was in the hip, then hand, then head. He sais she was in a standing position close to the door and he did not do tests to prove any other method.

He was questioned by Nel who said that it was possible that she could have screamed depending on the timing of the bullets and also that a normal circumstance would have shown that the food in her stomach was consumed two to three hours before her death. Nel also said that the defence had withdrawn their version of a "double tap" in the shooting.

Oscar Pistorius apologised to Reeva's parents and family and said that there is not one day that he does not think of the pain and suffering that he has caused their family. He wanted to give them a written apology before but could not find the words.

This was his opening remark on the stand this morning before his history and early life was presented to the court.

Oscar also came to the stand and he described his childhood; he lost his legs at 1 months old and his mother treated him as a normal child. His parents divorced and he had an estranged relationship with his father. Oscar's mother kept a pistol under her pillow for protection and often got scared. Pistorius went to boarding school at his own request and whilst there, heard that his mother was ill. She passed away when he was 15 years old and on weekends and holidays he and his brother stayed with friends or family but had no stable home to go to.

He became an athlete and was bullied at times during school but his mother taught him to be strong and defend himself. Oscar also became an Olympic athlete and also aided in charitable events, helping others with the same problems that he faced.

Pistorius said that he only drinks alcohol twice a year after training, he does not take any drugs. He is on sleeping tablets and anti depressants since the night of the tragedy.

Oscar told the court that he was afraid of crime and that he bought an American pitbull for protection. His house in Silverwoods Estate was know to be bad for crime.

Pistorius told the court that he got out of his car with his gun when he was driving with ex girlfriend, Samantha Taylor as people were following them home. He also mentioned that he took out his gun and helped a woman that was being assaulted in a parking lot of a shopping centre in Pretoria.

He also said that someone had broken into a home in his estate via a ladder where they tied up the housekeeper. He realised that his home had too much to fix and wanted to move closer to Reeva which is why he wanted to originally sell his home.

Oscar said that he phoned his cousin on the 13th and told him not to drive to Pretoria in his new car as there were a lot of hijackings there.

Pistorius said that meeting Reeva was a blessing as he had only found religion in 2012. They would pray before meals.

Barry Roux suggested that they adjourn for the day as Oscar looked very tired due to not sleeping the night before.

Captain Francois Moller is back on the stand talking about what he analysed on the phones of Reeva and Oscar.

He stated that Reeva's cellphone was off from 8pm on the 14th February 2013 as well as Oscar's phone. Oscar's phone had a signal after midnight which indicated that he was not asleep as he said in his statement.

Oscar's first call on the tragic night was to his estate manager, then emergency services, security and then a friend, then family member. A number saved at 4:00 was to a Peet whom he called three times.

The data showed that Pistorius called security before security called him.

The text about Darren Fresco does not confirm Oscar admitting to the shooting in the restaurant, only that Fresco will take the blame. Roux pointed this out.

Roux declines to read a message pertaining to Reeva.

One of the messages refers to Oscar's shoulder injury which is why he slept on the otherside of the bed.

He also handed out friendly texts and stated that after their argumentative conversation, there was a friendly one.

The court is going through messages that were friendly which Roux is asking analyst to talk about.

Nel comes back to say that Roux is asking about messages that showed love but nothing confirms that via messages.

He asks Moller to read out a message about 13th February 2013, where Reeva asked if she could come and cook for him and he said yes, then she asked if she can stay the night and he replied that; "you don't have to but stay tonight if you like."

The witness is excused and warrant officer Adriaan Maritz takes the stand to verify if Pistorius had been a victim of crime previously.

In 2011 there was a crime in the Silverlakes estate. Roux has told him that there was another crime in 2010 but Adriaan can only report on crimes that were reported.

Colonel Johannes Vermeulen has been called back to the stand to be questioned by Roux as he asked him to return once he could find cases that he had done wood examinations on.

Johannes Vermeulen said that he could not match the bat to other marks on the toilet.

Nel stated to the court that Vermeulen was asked for phone records but he would like to know if that is still necessary. Roux said that he would not need it.

Roux has asked if he can contact the witnesses that have not been used by Nel. They will need time to speak to the witnesses and court will adjourn until Friday 28th March.

The state has witnesses to say that they heard screaming, evidence that Reeva was shot in the hip first, to allow for her to scream and that gives the state reason to charge for murder as they have proven beyond reasonable doubt that it was murder and not accidental.

They have a few more witnesses to bring forward to the stand for questioning, one of which will be Stander, the estate manager first to arrive on the scene. Pistorius is also going to be questioned by the State.

Captain Moller who will disclose what was found on the cellphones of Reeva Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius will also be expected.

The first witness today is Anette Stipp, Oscar's neighbour and wife of radiologist who came to the scene after he heard gunshots.

Anette Stipp stated that she woke up to a gunshot, continuous screaming and then more gunshots, followed by screams from a male and a female.

Stipp said that Oscar Pistorius bathroom window was open and there were lights on. Her balcony has a view of Oscar's bathroom and she noticed lights on and the window open in the bathroom and the entire second floor after the first gunshot was heard.

Cross questioning done by Advocate Oldwage who has tried to get Anette Stipp to confuse her story but she has not backed down and has stuck to the facts; she heard a gunshot, female screaming and them more gunshots.

The cross examination of Mrs Stipp has went on all morning and the final witness for today was called to the stand. Captain Moller (Hawks cellphone analyst) received four cellphones; 2 blackberries, 2 Iphones and 2 Ipads and a Macbook computer. He said that the balckberry phones had not been used for three months prior to the incident and the one phone had been sim swapped.

He requested a warrant for all of the phones but only received data for 3 which left him suspicious.

They were able to recover deleted information from Reeva Steenkamps phone and he let the court know that there was no way to tamper with the data.

The first message retrieved showed Oscar telling Reeva that Darren took the blame for the shooting at a restaurant. "I can't afford for that to come out." "Darren told everyone it was his fault."

Messages from the 19th January 2013 onwards read;

Reeva: I'm sorry if i upset you, it was not my intention."

Reeva: It's like I see rabid things in your house and you take pix of them. I'm thinking who you have that connection with."

'I wasn't a stripper or a ho."

27th January;

Reeva: "I'm scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me."

"I can't be attacked by others for dating you and be attacked by you."

Reeva: "Right now I know you are not happy and I know I am very unhappy and sad."

The list went on for a while as Moller said that there were loving conversations and 90% were normal but the messages he read out in court would pertain to the case.

Court adjourned for the day, with Oscar wiping away a tear.

This morning continued with the witness Captain Christian Mangena as he said that Reeva was in a standing position in the toilet facing the toilet door when the first shot was fired and hit her hip. This caused her to fall backwards onto a magazine rack (removed from crime scene) placing her in a seated position.

The other bullet was shot through the door but missed Reeva and ricocheted into the wall and onto her back, leaving bruises on her back.

The third and fourth bullet could not be given a sequence but Reeva was in a defensive position with her arms covering her head, causing the wound on her right arm and bruising on her chest.

The fourth bullet hit her head and fragments caused the finger bruising. She then fell to the floor and hit her head on the toilet seat.

Roux tried to cross examine Mangena but he disagreed with anything that Roux suggested, saying that his theory is correct and has been tested.

The shots fired were shot 60cm away from the door and powder residue from the gun showed this.

Mangena tested the bullets and noted that they only open up on human tissue.

It was determined that Pistorius was not on his prosthesis when he shot through the door.

Mangena also said that Reeva was standing and that her clothing showed her position when the shots were fired.

Roux has no further questions and Mangena was excused from the stand.

The next witness, also from the forensics team with twenty years of experience, Colonel Ian van der Nest.

He described the blood splatter on the railing, in the toilet and on the couch in the lounge as Reeva's hair soaked in blood caused the splatter. The arterial wound caused blood to spurt which was also shown on the floor and the walls of the house.

The head and right arm wound caused arterial spurting and the head wound was caused in or around the toilet.

He also said that there was no blunt force trauma caused and agreed with Mangena's reconstruction of the scene.

Pistorius dragged her body down the stairs to the carpet, where she was found and most of the blood was from her soaked hair and clothing.

Roux did not have much to ask in this case and the next witness was called up.

Colonel Michael Sales is a cellphone expert and he investigated Oscar's Ipad web history and bookmarks.

Colonel explained that there was no history found on the Ipad of Oscar Pistorius, which must have been deleted prior to the 13th February 2013 by Oscar.

Michael Sales stated that on the 13th February 2013 "free mobile porn" was searched for at 4:30pm and he also looked a super car websites. "The commonalities between two web histories of two Ipads."

Roux asked for a five minute break as he did not know about the witness.

They returned from the break and Nel has requested a break until Monday, he also said that he is almost ready to close his case as there are only a few witnesses left to testify.

Due to the long weekend it will be difficult for them to gather witnesses and th Judge has agreed to resume on Monday.

The first witness is van Staden again who is the crime scene photographer. He had to bring in his album for the defence team to have a look at and has been questioned about times of photographs and his whereabouts at certain times at the scene of the crime.

What was noticed with the photo album is the broken bedroom door and a hole with damage to it. This was not mentioned in Pistorius's affidavit as he said that the bedroom door was locked when they went to sleep.

Roux asked when the blood splatter expert arrived on the scene and he said that he arrived on the 15th February.

The questions put forward to the witness van Staden is trying to imply that he was not the only one at the crime scene and that things were moved around. Van Staden said that things were moved in order to take photo's and the bedroom door was not photographed as he said it was not an immovable object.

There were other police at the scene and Roux questioned whether he was alone in the bathroom or if there were other police with him.

Crime scene photo's shown in court and Roux asked van Staden why he did not take close up photo's of the bathroom door. He also asked why he did not take a wide lens photo of the watches in the bedroom and also if he opened the gym bag to take photo's. Van Staden said that he did take a wide lens photo and he also took photo's of the objects in the gym bag.

There were other police there and there was another ballistics photographer at the same time that van Staden was taking photo's.

Roux continued to question van Staden about the photo's that he took at the crime scene, moving of evidence and the stolen watch, along with another police photographer at the scene.

Nel took over questioning and explained that the evidence was moved by milimetres for the photographs to be taken.

Gerrie Nel also said that he has new evidence that he would like to bring into court about the bat and the door.

Roux came back to question about a photograph of a hand holding the bat with a blue glove on to show that van Staden was not alone at the crime scene but van Staden stated that he did not know who the hand belonged to and that he concentrated on the crime scene itself. Motha, another police officer took those photo's.

Nel has asked to bring in a technical witness and would like to finish him in one day but the judge denies his request.

Chris Mangena is the ballistics expert which has been sworn in to testify about shots and where they were aimed.

The Captain's job was to reconstruct what had happened and follow the projectory of the shots fired. He received the door and the photo's.

Bullets came from the entrance side of the door. He went back to the crime scene and reconstructed the door.

He noted bullet holes in the toilet walls and ricochet marks with heights from 93cm to 104cm from the bathroom floor.

One of the bullets hit an object and fractured but did not break the tiles. Four shots were fired and three of them disappeared between the door and the wall, one perforated the wall and the door and only one bullet was found in the toilet meaning that the other three hit the target.

He discussed what instruments he used to determine where the bullets landed and steel rods and lasers were used.

The angle of the shots were between 5 and 6 degrees downwards and none of the photo's were shown in court today.

The court is going through the photo's with Nel and they have been discussing in detail how it was measured and reconstructed.

The Captain requested the crime scene photographs to have a look at the scene in order to reconstruct it exactly.

The fired cartridge cases was something that was absolutely necessary for him to see and they were visible in the photo's taken by van Staden.

Bullet fragments that were found in the toilet were also seen in the photo's and were positioned under a magazine rack in the toilet.

The position of the body was also important for him to see which he got from a photograph of the crime scene. He had to see the injuries in order to reconstruct the scene. He requested the clothing from the scene and the post mortem photo's.

He noted that the vest that Reeva wore had bullet holes in it and fragments of tissue too.

The face of the deceased was also shown in a photo in order for him to note that it was the correct person.

He stated that there was an entry wound in the front of her arm and the exit was at the back of her arm.

Reeva had a bruise on her chest which did not have an entry wound.

The wound on her finger was also shown and the height of the hip wound was also critical in his investigation.

The two wounds on Reeva's head showed an entrance wound and an exit wound on the head.

He looked at the statement from Pistorius to see whether he was wearing prosthesis or not and needed to reconstruct the scene from that.

The height of the Pistorius was 180cm with prosthesis and without 155cm.

Pistorius shoulder level was 156cm with prosthesis and 123cm without.

Court adjourned for today.

The first witness on the stand today was Sean Patrick Rens, a firearm service provider.

Oscar Pistorius has bought 7 weapons from Rens including, assault rifle, pump action shotgun, pistol grip shotgun and a 38 special revolver.

Pistorius filled out a gun competency questionnaire but certificates were never completed.

Rens spoke about an incident where Pistorius thought there was an intruder "code red" terminology in gun training. It turned out to be the tumble dryer and Pistorius wrote on twitter and facebook that " nothing like getting home to hear the washing machine on and thinking it's an intruder to go into full combat recon mode into the pantry! waa."

Rens said that there is no difference between gun collecting and recklessness.

Warrant officer Van Staden was second to the stand this morning. (Crime scene photographer.)

Van Staden stated what camera he used to photograph the crime scene and he told the court that he kept a working copy and the admin clerk receives a master copy of photographs. He did not delete any photos and he aske Botha to clear the room of everyone in order to take the photo's.

Oscar Pistorius was asked if he had washed his hands as they needed to check for gunshot residue. Pistorius said that he had washed his hands.

Van Staden took a photo of Reeva's black vest to establish where there was a bullet hole.

A photograph of the bedroom door was also shown in court and it clearly showed a bullet hole.

A duvet cover was opened to be examined for further blood splatter, which they found and photographed along with blood splatter on the wall on the left hand side of his bed.

He was asked who had taken items from the safe and he replied that Oscar's brother Carl, removed items and gave it to an advocate.

Van Staden also noted that there was a broken window downstairs which was not from the event on 13th February but before.

Van Staden also took photo's of the restaurant in which Oscar fired a gun in.

9 photos were taken of Oscar Pistorius and Van Staden told Botha that Oscar had shot Reeva, which is when they took him into custody.

He also did residue test on Pistorius and Roux explained to the court that the police gave Oscar permission to wash his hands.

Roux has asked Van Staden to bring to court the PR tests and the flash disc of photo's for tomorrow mornings court proceeding.

Colonel van Rensberg was on the stand again being questioned by Gerrie Nel. Van Rensberg was asked about the bathroom window and he noticed that the window was open and that there were no burglar bars on it.

They continued to go through photo's of the crime scene and van Rensberg explained that he saw human tissue under a broken wooden panel in the bathroom, blood inside the toilet bowl and next to it, Pistorius wearing his prosthetics with blood on them and the socks, shirtless with blood on the back of his left arm.

Van Rensberg also stated that he noticed it was not a forced entry and then proceeded to read Pistorius his rights as he viewed him as a suspect.

He said that a lawyer came to the house and the Stander family, the photographer, Botha, Carl (Oscars brother) and then Aimee (Oscars sister.) Those were the only people in the house at the time and Botha and photographer went upstairs to document photo evidence. Aimee went upstairs to collect clothing and a watch for Oscar.

Oscars watch box was photographed and there was blood splatter on that too but he took the picture as the watches seemed expensive and he wanted to be sure that he had photographic proof of watches.

One watch was taken by Oscar's sister and the other one was stolen from the crime scene. Van Rensberg opened a case for the missing watch and they searched and documented everyone that was there at the scene. He also said that officer handled the gun with no gloves on. Everything that they removed from the home was documented and sealed and van Rensberg sealed and locked the house after feeding the dog. Two security guards stood on guard after that to protect the house from media and intruders.

Due to media wanting a photo of the crime scene door, van Rensberg decided to move the door and take it away as it was a crucial piece of evidence. They transported it in a body bag.

Van Rensberg signed for the evidence and kept it under lock and key.

Van Rensberg said that he was the first person, along with Botha to go upstairs and he saw the fan, the curtains and balcony door was open and he didn't see the cricket bat which was behind the bedroom door.

There were two cellphones and one was covered in a towel.

Van Rensberg clarified that he did not add certain things into his statement but he specified that he was the first on the scene.

Court ended for the day and it seems like Hilton Botha is on Roux's mind as he kept on asking about him during questions for van Rensberg.

The toilet door from the scene of the crime has been placed in the court room today and there are four bullet holes, three of which are grouped 25cm below the door handle and one 30cm down to the right.

Fresco is back on the stand and the defence has no further questions for him. State attorney Gerrie Nel has started to question him.

Darren Fresco said that Pistorius drove to the Vaal with his gun between his legs and did not have it in the holster. He was going 260km's on the day and did not offer to pay the fine.

Fresco took a photo of the speedometer in the car and sent it to Pistorius's phone.

In the incident at the restaurant Fresco gave Pistorius his gun because Oscar asked to see it.

Roux decided to cross examine Fresco and said that he engineered the photo of the speed and that he engineered the evidence.

Darren Fresco said that Oscar must have been driving and that he does not remember the incident.

He has left the stand.

Colonel Vermeulen a forensic expert has been called to the stand. He has more than 29 years of experience and was asked to investigate on the 7th March. He knows the blood splatter and ballistics expert.

He attended to the shooting scene on the 8th March and was asked to look at two issues; marks on the door from the cricket bat.

The door was not in the frame on the 8th March and he requested to have it put back.

He was also asked to investigate why the steel plate in the door was bent.

He received the steel plate from the bathroom on the 26th April as well as the cricket bat. The steel plate was bent as a result of something hitting it.

The forensics expert saw two marks on the door and demonstrated to the court that it was the cricket bat that caused the marks in the door.

Vermeulen demonstrated that the hitter would have to have been standing right against the door, striking at a 45 degree angle.

The court measured the distance from the ground and with Vermeulen's hit, it measured 1.85 metres high whereas the mark is 1.53metres high.

He got onto his knees and hit again suggesting the lower mark was the first one.

The second mark was also a match however Vermeulen said that the orientation of the person was different.

Standing in front of the toilet door the bat went through the door and the door has a loose panel inside the frame created when the bat was twisted.

Oscar Pistorius has had his dead down for most of the trial today and did not really watch the demonstration.

Vermeulen said that when he was asked to investigate he was not aware of measurements taken.

He confirmed that the door was bashed down with the cricket bat.

Oscar Pistorius wrote in his affidavit, that he put on his prosthetic legs after the shooting before breaking the door.

Pistorius's attorneys took turns in demonstrating with the bat and Oscar left the court room for a break. On returning to the court, Oscar was seen glaring at Darren Fresco, who did not make eye contact with Pistorius.

Roux questions Vermeulen and he says that he has not done a microscopic test on the door and Oscar Pistorius height was similar to when he fired the shots.

They are doing another demonstration with the bat and Vermeulen is on his knees and loses his balance. Roux suggests that if Pistorius was not on prosthetics that he would have done the same. Vermeulen said that if Oscar could fire a gun without losing his balance then he could strike with a bat too.

He was asked by Roux about the preservation of the scene and the rubber band around the bat that was missing. Vermeulen said that they had taken that for fingerprint analysis.

Mr Mangena (police officer) had custody of the door and Vermeulen got to see it for the first time on the 8th March.

Vermeulens job was to look at the marks on the door and he was not asked to examine missing pieces of the door or investigate whether Oscar was wearing prosthetics at the time.

The mark on the door corresponds with the side of the bat.

There are two marks that he can confirm but a third he is not sure of.

Forensic expert Johan Vermeulen said that there was a mark on the bat that shows how Oscar further hit the door.

Roux asked Vermeulen to put the bat into the gap in the door and it does not fit.

He stands bent over away from the door and the bat fits into the gap.

Vermeulen says that it is an unnatural position and Roux said for him, not for Oscar.

He also said that there was a twisting and wedging action of the bat which was why there was a piece missing.

Roux asked him when the bat was used and Vermeulen said that it was after the shots were fired.

Roux has shown Vermeulen photo's of pieces of wood and splinters. He said that it is the first time that he has seen the missing pieces of the door and wood. The missing pieces were photographed in the police basement, next to the door.

The mark under the handle of the door could not be linked to the cricket bat and Roux says that they will present evidence that a prosthetic leg kicked the door leaving sock residue.

Vermeulen said that it could have been from Pistorius tripping over the plank when he picked up Steenkamp from the bathroom. There is no evidence to say that he kicked the door in, only Pistorius's version of events. He also said that nobody was asked to investigate the possibility of the door being kicked down.

He did receive the prostheses and said that there was a mark on it, probably from an earlier incident.

Roux said that Pistorius said in his bail application that he put on his prosthetic legs and then tried to kick the door open before hitting it with a bat.

Vermeulen said that he had only seen the bail affidavit last week and is as objective as possible.

Roux showed Vermeulen photo's of the door and questioned why there were footprints on it and Vermeulen said that he did not receive the door and bat in the same condition as the 14th February. He had no idea where the door was kept until it was returned to him on the 8th March 2013, where they brought it in a body bag and he had no idea who took it out of the bag.

The door and bat looked almost like it did when he first saw it. A piece of the door was reassembled at the scene which they found there and placed back on.

Roux asked Vermeulen to select photo's from the crime scene regarding pieces of door, he also requested that he brings his own notes regarding the case and finally wants to see his qualifications for examining material as the qualified tool mark examiner was at the autopsy and did not examine the door, tomorrow morning.

Colonel Johannes Vermeulen will be in court again on Thursday morning.

The morning started off with Colonel Vermeulen bringing in his paperwork from the case against Pistorius.

He said that Pistorius did not have his prosthetic legs on when he used the cricket bat on the toilet door.

He said that he received the prosthetics without socks on it and he stated that the door was not kicked with them.

Nel asked him if it was possible that the door could have been kicked before shots were fired but Vermeulen said it was possible.

The next witness was investigating officer on the night in question, Mr van Rensburg.

He arrived at the house to find a female at the left of the stairs covered in blood and towels.

A paramedic told him that she had died as soon as they arrived. The paramedic showe him a wound on the left middle finger, wound on the right arm above her elbow, wound on her waist and head and he saw Oscar in the kitchen.

He called forensics and whomever else needed to be there for the scene.

Clarissa Stander and her father, the estate manager was also in the house at the time and she told van Rensburg that she went to get black bags and towels to try and stop the bleeding.

He was not aware of where the crime had taken place and asked Pistorius to stand next to the basin. When Botha got there they looked at the scene together.

In the living room was blood splatter on the seat, tiles and chairs.

The went up the stairs and followed the trail of blood on the steps as well as on the staircase rail upstairs.

He opened a door that was locked and found no trace of blood anywhere there and continued on to a spare bedroom where there was more blood splatter found as well as on the wall towards the spare room.

A small room leading to the main bedroom also had blood splatter on it and they went into the main bedroom where they found a black airgun at the entrance.

They were shown photo's of the bedroom door where there was a hole in it near the bottom and on the door handle.

The fan was between balcony and bed where he found balcony door and curtain open on arrival.

On the left hand side of the bed was a gun magazine and a holster and the right side was a box of wrist watches, pair of jeans, sandals and overnight bag.

There were cellphones on the top of a hifi system as well as a fan.

The passage from the main bedroom to the bathroom had a cartridge on the floor, next to the cupboard and at the entrance of the bathroom was blood splatter on the lower wall and the ground.

Bloodied towels were found on the bathroom floor along with another cartridge and splinters of wood.

Blood and pieces of wood were in the bath and a toilet bag was on the bath. Splatter was found on the wall tiles next to the basins, along with a cricket bat, towels and the gun which had the hammer pulled back, blood next to it and two cellphones.

The window was open and had frosted glass.

The whole of the top of the door is off and there was a key in it. Two big blood stains were also photographed at the scene.

Baba was the first person back on the stand today and Roux said that Oscar had called him first but Baba insisted that he did not call him first and that Stipp and another man called before. Baba called Oscar first and he said that Oscar said that everything was fine whilst crying.

He also said that if Pistorius thought that there was an intruder then he should have sounded the alarm, which he did not.

The second witness is the pathologist Gert Saayman.

The media were not allowed to tweet or repeat any of the post - mortem details to preserve Reeva's dignity and protect her family.

During the proceedings, Oscar Pistorius began vomitting.

Saayman said that Reeva Steenkamp died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head, thigh and elbow. He also described how the bullet hit through Reeva's brain and the bullets, known as "black talon" are so devastating that they were banned in South Africa due to the flesh tearing effect. The bullets penetrate through the flesh and mushroom on impact, causing extreme damage.

Reeva also had vegetable matter in her stomach which had to have been ingested two hours before her death. (Oscar Pistorius's statement said that they went to bed at about 10pm.)

Steenkamp's bladder did not have much liquid in it after she was shot, there was a teaspoon full of urine in her bladder.

The shot to her hip and arm would have disabled her and she would not have been able to move, she also needed urgent medical attention in order to save her life, should she not have been shot in the head.

The head shot damaged the skull and she would not have had much of a last breath after that shot was fired.

There was bruising on her nipple, knee and shin which was not caused by the shots fired but by frictional contact.

She also had two scratches on her back which could have been caused by a blunt object or shrapnel.

Steenkamp was wearing a black sleeveless top and grey Nike shorts at the time of her death.

The wound in her hip had an entry point of about 92cm from the ground and the hole in her shorts matched this wound.

There were also bruises and small abrasions on her left groin which the pathologist said were superficial wounds, possibly caused by wooden splinters and did not penetrate the skin.

Saayman also noted a wound on Reeva's hand between her two fingers.

Small tissue fragments were distributed all over her vest and fragments of bone and tissue were scattered over her torso.

The toilet door was apparently locked.

Pistorius needed a moment in court and they adjourned for a moment and the judge Masipa, also appeared to be disturbed by the report from Saayman.

Saayman said that the bullets that were used were designed to kill not disable and Reeva received a shattered hip and arm due to the bullets with the final one to her head.

The trial ended for the day and will be back in court tomorrow.

The first witness on the stand today is Gert Saayman, the state pathologist who is being cross examined by Advocate Roux.

Roux said that Saayman seems to have referred to notes many times but people have said that he has been doing post - mortems for thirty years.

He was absolutely certain that Reeva Steenkamp was shot fatally three times, she had eaten two hours before her death and that her bladder had some urine in it.

Advocate Roux did not cross examine about the gun shots and fatal wounds.

Next witness on the stand was Darren Fresco who was warned by the judge that he could be implicating himself at the trial with certain information on the gun use.

He was asked about the night that Oscar shot out the open sunroof of his car and he said that he had been stopped for speeding on the same night. He agreed that Oscar shot out of the sunroof and that Darren was angry because it gave him a ringing in his ear.

He also received a fine for false number plates and Oscar wanted to shoot a robot (traffic light) in anger after the ticket had been issued.

Darren Fresco said that two metro police stopped them and one of them touched Oscar's gun, which was on the seat of the car. Pistorius was angry and told the cop that "you don't touch someone elses gun." "Now your fingerprints are all over my gun and if something happens you will be responsible."

They went to dinner after that and he doesn't recall what he said.

He told the court that at the restaurant where the shot was fired by accident, Oscar was told that there was a bullet in the chamber and he took the blame for the incident to help Oscar avoid media attention.

He said that they stayed to chat for a bit after the shooting and they also hoped that the owners would assume it was a gas explosion in the kitchen.

The two were sitting next to each other at the restaurant so there was no way Oscar could have not heard the warning from Fresco to say that there was a bullet in the chamber.

Witness Johan Stipp back on the stand reconfirming that he heard screams and gun shots as well as seeing all the lights on in Oscar Pistorius's Silver wood Estate home. He pointed out the window that he saw a figure moving in and confirmed that it was definitely what he saw.

Roux said that they did sound tests on the night of the 21st February and a woman screamed as loud as she could from the bathroom but Stipp said that he heard a man shouting.

Question: Why would they test for someone shouting if Pistorius claimed there was not any?

The next witness brought in is Samantha Taylor an ex girlfriend of Pistorius, which had broken up with him on two occasions for cheating. The last break up was when he cheated on Samantha with Reeva Steenkamp.

Taylor said that he slept on the right side of the bed and the gun was either on a nightstand or next to his prosthetics.

She also said that when he screams he sounds like a man and was questioned about an incident in a car with friend Darren Fresco, where he had been stopped by police for speeding and directly after drove off and Pistorius shot through the sunroof of a car, whilst he and his friend laughed about it. She said he was angry at the time but laughed about the shot.

He carried his gun everywhere and she also said that on another night, someone was following Oscar home and he stopped the car, pulled out his gun and walked towards the car, putting the gun on the window.

Oscar's defence suggested that it was to protect Taylor.

Samantha also stated that Pistorius woke her up one night to say that he thought that there was an intruder.

Samantha Taylor broke down in tears twice through her questioning and had to have a break. On her relationship with Oscar, she cried as she spoke about him cheating on her.

The next witness was Pieter Baba a security guard of two years at Silverwood Estate. He was on duty on the nigh of the murder and he said that he received a phone call from Stipp and another resident a the same time saying that they had heard gunshots.

He went to Stipps house and said that he pointed out Pistorius's house from his balcony as the source of the shots.

Baba drove to Oscar's home and called him on the phone when he said that Oscar replied, "everything is fine," whilst crying.

Pistorius called him back but said nothing and then ended the call.

When Pieter Baba arrived at Oscar's home he saw him coming down the stairs with Reeva in his arms.

The estate manager and his daughter arrived on the scene and told Baba to go and call the police, which he left the scene to do.

Baba also stated that all the lights were on in Pistorius's home.

The time stamp from the calls that he received were from residents at 3:15 and he called Pistorius at 3:24.

Roux said that they would have to look at that on Monday.

The witness Baba, said that he was not feeling well and court adjourned until Monday.

Coincidentally, Pistorius greeted and shook the hands of members of the ANC's Women's League before court.

Charl Johnson has been brought back for cross examination after being excused from the stand yesterday. The defence attorney, Roux wanted to get copies of Johnson's laptop notes that he made for his statement.

Roux suggested that Johnson was unsure of whether it was Oscar screaming or a female and he did not seem sure of how many shots he heard, also saying that it could have been the cricket bat, banging on the toilet door.

Johnson said that it was definitely gunshots and a female scream that he heard.

Roux suggested that Johnson's statement was made to incriminate Pistorius and he disagreed, saying that it was the his duty to give correct and fair information for either attorney to use.

The next witness Johan Stephens Stipp was called to testify and he lives in the same complex at Silverwood Estate.

He said that he woke up to three loud bangs and went onto his balcony to hear a female voice screaming.

His house is the closest to Pistorius, being 77 metres away.

He went onto his balcony and called the security and asked them to call the emergency services, when he noticed all the lights were on in Oscar's home. He also heard Oscar shout help three times and decided to go over to the house.

Stipp also said that he saw the bathroom light on and through frosted glass, he saw a silhouette moving from right to left when he first heard a woman screaming.

The shots he heard were both before and after screams.

When he got to the house he saw Oscar on his knees and a woman lying on her left side on the ground.

He also said that Oscar said, "I shot her, I thought she was a burglar and I shot her."

Steenkamp clenched her hand into Oscars hand while he tried to resuscitate but Stipp, a radiologist said that her pupils were dilated and fixed.

Court adjourned for the day and will continue tomorrow.

Oscar's sister Aimee was seen talking to Reeva's cousin in the court room and Oscar had his head down with his hands over his head when Stipp was talking about the fatal night.

It looks as though this trial is going to be a lot longer than the expected three weeks as the cross examination and questioning of witnesses, seems to be very drawn out.

Witnesses so far have said that they heard female screams before gunshots were heard and the defence team are eagerly and what seems to be desperately trying to "badger" witnesses into slipping up with their testimonies.

Charl Johnson the witness and husband of Michelle Burger, has testified that he heard female screams and gunshots.

The defence attorney Roux, has said that there are key elements missing in evidence given to the police and Johnson said that he had notes on his laptop, which Roux wanted to see and asked for an adjournment.

The cricket bat was brought into the courtroom and Johnson returned but the defence team were up and down and Johnson was asked to leave the stand for now.

Another witness was called in. The witnesses for today are being questioned about an incident involving Oscar and a gun going off in a restaurant called "Tasha's.)

Lerena is a boxer friend of Oscar's and they met at Tasha's to discuss a diet plan for him.

There were a group of guys at the table and Darren Fresco, a friend of Oscar's handed him a gun under the table of the restaurant that was filled with over 200 people, including a child that was sitting at the table next to the group. The gun went off making a hole in the floor and grazing Lerena's toe.

Lerena said that Pistorius asked Darren to take the blame due to his media profile, which he did.

Roux did not know that the witness was going to be called to the stand and he also said that Pistorius apologised to everyone in the restaurant and was angry about the gun being taken out.

Lerena also said that he could not remember if Pistorius was angry at the man that took out the gun.

He left the stand and glanced at Oscar as he exited.

The next witness was the owner of the restaurant Jason Loupis, who said that he heard a gun shot and went over to Pistorius's table with his wife Maria, who asked what had happened and had a reply from Darren Fresco, who said that the gun fell out of his pants and went off.

Maria was questioned and she said that Fresco told her the gun fell out of his pants and she said that she asked him; "what is the first rule of owning a gun, shouldn't it be safety first?" Maria said he replied with a yes and she then hit him over the head.

Nobody got hurt and they saw that everyone was alright. Pistorius and friends paid their bill and left shortly after the incident.

The defence team once again asked for an adjournment to prepare a witness and the trial continues again Thursday 6th March 2014.

Michelle Burger has left the stand and the second witness has been sworn in. Estelle van der Merwe, another neighbour.

She was awoken at 1:56 after her husband, son and her went to sleep at around 9. She heard loud shouting and fighting which angered her as her son had a test early in the morning. She went back to bed and put a pillow over her head to cover the noise and was woken up again by loud shots that were consecutive. The husband said that it was shots and he went over to the balcony to check what is what. The husband called the security and she heard screams after the gun shot.

Estelle heard someone crying out loudly and her husband suggested that it was Oscar but Estelle said it sounded like a woman.

The lady got up to see what was happening and saw the ambulance. They called the security to ask what had happened and they were informed that Oscar had shot a friend.

Estelle van der Merwe and her husband lived across the road from Oscar Pistorius, they were aware that he lived there but did not know him.

She heard more voices on the night of 21 February 2014. Estelle woke up to the sound of voices and saw two people who were arguing but could only hear one voice. A white SUV pulled away from the house of Oscar Pistorius and he went back into his room.

The court adjourned for lunch and on returning Oscar's attorney explained the car and voices as tests at Oscar's house on the night of 21st and a man and woman were in the bedroom screaming, to try and investigate if neighbours could hear.

Witness 3 is Charl Johnson, the husband of the first witness.

He also said that he heard a scream from a woman in distress coming from Oscar's home. There were screams from a female and then shots were fired.

His story also suggested that a female screamed, male shouted for help and shots were fired.

Johnson said that they watched the bail hearing and realisd that they were the closest witnesses to the crime scene and decided to go to a lawyer to avoid media and publicity.

The court adjourned for the day as the Pistorius attorney and family could not hear the witness correctly.

On the 3rd March 2014, Oscar Pistorius has gone back to court for a premeditated murder trial, which has grabbed the world'a attention.

It is as big a case as the O.J Simpson trial and there are dedicated television channels and radio stations following the case closely.

Today was the start of the trial and Oscar Pistorius pleaded "not guilty" to the murder of Reeva Steenkamp along with a not guilty plea for four other charges.

The court case was delayed due to a missing interpreter this morning but as the case began the first witness appeared on the stand.

Dr Michelle Burger, a University lecturer and the neighbour of Oscar, living 177metres away, was woken up at 3am on the night in question along with her husband, to the sound of terrified female screams and cries for help, followed by gunshots and more screams.

Burger also said that she had heard a male shouting for help and assumed it was a house break in.

Dr Burger's window was open due to the heat and lack of air conditioning. Their window faces the Oscar Pistorius's property and they said that they only found out what had happened to following day, which is when they went to give their statement.

They heard all the noises and gunshots and assumed that it was a robbery. Once they realised what had happened, the Burgers' then gave their statement to Captain van Aardt, separately.

Michelle's husband called a security company but it was the security company of their previous address.

Before they called the security Michelle Burger heard the screams of a female in trouble, followed by a male shouting for help 3 times. They then called security and heard 4 gunshots after that, followed by more female screams.

The witness was cross examined and it was suggested that Pistorius was screaming like a woman but Michelle Burger was adamant that she knew what she had heard and would not change her story. A female screaming, a male screaming for help three times and then 4 gunshots.

Oscar Pistorius urine samples showed no signs of diuretics, anabolic steroids or narcotics.

Post mortem pictures show that there was no blunt force trauma.

Day 2 - The trial begins again with cross examination of the first witness and the similarities between her statement and her husbands one.

The witness agrees that the events written on the statement are similar as they live in the same house and were in the same bedroom when the event took place. Michelle Burger was happy to know that her husband heard the same things that she did.

The attorney argued that the witness might not have heard gun shots but the sound of a bat being knocked onto a door. The witness disagreed and said that she knows what a gun sounds like and that she definitely heard gun shots and a male shouting not screaming.

Roux in cross examination asked the witness why she thinks Pistorius would have shouted for help if he was about to kill his girlfriend and the witness said that she wouldn't know why he or the girl shouted and that it was a question for him to ask Oscar.

Her final answer was that she heard screams from a female after the final shot.

Roux brought out evidence that the forensic evidence suggests that Reeva was so badly hurt that she would not have been able to scream after the final shot.

Michelle Burger is determined that she heard screams from a female after the final shot and that she was not sure just how long after as she was not timing the events with a stop watch.

Roux ended off his cross examination with a question of if Michelle Burger can identify the sound of a gun shot.

Nel asked Michelle if the sequence of shots could have fitted with the sound of a bat and she replied no and broke into tears saying that the horrific screams have tormented her and she still has a hard time forgetting the screams.

Michelle Burger left the stand and has completed questioning.

Thokozile Masipa is a former crime reporter that covered stories during the Apartheid era. Masipa became a social worker in 1976 and completed her law degree at the age of 43.

Masipa became the 2nd black woman on the Transvaal bench in 1988 and strongly against violence and abuse of women and has given out maximum sentences to men who have committed such crimes.

"You deserve to go to jail for life because you are not a protector. You are a killer."

Along with the judge there are two assessors and over 105 witnesses.

Neighbours in the Silverwood Estate heard screaming and shouting coming from the Olympic Champ's home at around 1:30am.

3:30 four gunshots were heard and the police were called to the scene.

It has been said that Oscar Pistorius heard noises in his home and thought it to be an intruder.

He allegedly shot through the bathroom door four times, killing his girlfriend. He then proceeded to take her downstairs after calling a friend and his father. They attempted to resuscitate Reeva and once the paramedics arrived she was dead.

Oscar claimed that he thought it was an intruder and had not mentioned that his girlfriend had arrived on the eve of Valentine's Day.

Oscar's home was searched for evidence and new information has turned up.

Security footage showed that Reeva had arrived on the 13th February with an overnight bag and valentine's gift (found shattered on the floor)

Reeva Steenkamp was in the bathroom 7metres away from Oscar's bedroom where the door had been locked whilst she was inside. Oscar shot through the locked (1.4mx1.4m) bathroom door with a 9mm pistol four times. One shot in the head, hand and hip killed his girlfriend.

Oscar then broke the door open and picked up Reeva's body where he took her down the stairs to await a neighbour and friend and his father whom he had called first.

All this information has come from the State attorney and Oscar Pistorius has not said anything about that night.

It is alleged that he managed to put his prosthetic legs on, armed himself and then proceeded to walk 7metres to the toilet where Reeva Steenkamp was behind the locked door. Oscar shot through the door 4 times. A bloodied cricket bat was also found at the scene.

Reeva had told friends that she was scared of Pistorius and wanted out of the relationship. Rugby player and close friend, Francois Hougaard had also text the night before and the police have taken Reeva's ipad and cellphone for more information. It is alleged that her text message could have sparked the argument.

Oscar was arrested and taken to a police station after having blood tests completed. The bail hearing was set for Friday the 15th February and was postponed to Tuesday 19th February.

Oscar has denied that he murdered girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and he said that they were very much in love. They were in the bedroom by 10pm where Reeva was doing yoga and Oscar was watching t.v. without his prosthetic legs attached.

He is not guilty and was not aware that it was Reeva in the bathroom of his home.

Reeva chose for them to stay at home instead of go out with friends.

He broke down in court whilst the statement was being read and the judge insisted he takes a break to regain his composure.

Family in court are there to support him and console the teary eyed and emotional Oscar.

The hearing is to discover if the event should be a schedule 5 or schedule six crime which if schedule 6 takes place will not allow Pretorius bail.

Oscar's statement: The two of them were asleep in the bedroom when Oscar heard a noise and got up to close the balcony door. He sleeps with a gun under his bed for protection as he as been the victim of crime previously. He then proceeded to the bathroom where he heard a noise and shouted for the"suspect" to come out of the bathroom. He then realised it was Reeva in there and he took a cricket bat to break open the bathroom door where he found Reeva lying over the toilet alive and breathing. He called the security and the paramedics and took her downstairs in order to get her to hospital quickly.

He also stated that he is an international sportsman and has no intention of leaving his country and will face a trial and is positive that it will show his innocence. He is not a flight risk and will not speak to witnesses.

A friend's statement reads: Oscar and Reeva were very much in love and he had told Justin Divaris that she could be "the one" as she is the only one that understands him. Justin's statement also reads that Oscar is a "humble, approachable and intelligent man."

A third statement from Sam Greyvenstein, Steenkamp's best friend and Justin Divaris girlfriend,"Reeva told me that she really liked Oscar and that both clicked and understood each other. Pistorius treated her like 'gold', Reeva said that she would marry Oscar if he asked and that he was intense but she loved him. In my experience Reeva and Oscar had nothing but love for each other."

Statement from Graham, Pistorius's friend: "I suggested driving to see me. Pistorius warned of a car hijacking syndicate in a nearby complex so I wouldn't be safe."

In South African, schedule 5 offences include murder, attempted murder, rape, drug-related crimes, especially where the drugs are found to be worth R50 000 or more, corruption, extortion, fraud, forgery or theft to the value of R500 000, the illegal dealing or smuggling of firearms, and assault on a child under the age of 16.

If convicted of a schedule 5 offence, the minimum sentence is 15 years for a first offender.

Schedule 6 offences include murder, including premeditated murder, the killing of a law enforcement officer, or killing as a result of rape or robbery with aggravating circumstances. Also falling in this category is rape, which includes gang rape or rape by a suspect who knows he is HIV-positive. Rape of a person under 16 years, or a mentally or physically disabled person, is also a schedule 6 offence.

Robbery with the use of a firearm, where grievous bodily harm results, or a car is stolen, is also a schedule 6 offence.

Investigating police officer Hilton Botha is in court today and is suggesting that they do not post bail as he believes Pistorius to be a flight risk. He has mentioned that there is an off- shore bank account and a home in Italy.

Botha said that they found four cartridges for the four gunshots and also cartridges for a wapon that has not been licensed. Reeva Steenkamp was dressed when she was shot on the right side of her body which suggests that she was hiding in a different position. Two cellphones were found in the bathroom and another two blackberry phones were also collected. The firearm was found on the shower mat and the cricket bat on the basin.

They also found two bottles of testosterone and needles at the Pistorius home.

The toilet has a seperate door and is located in the bathroom which seperates the main bedroom by 7metres. The floor plan has been shown to the court. Botha says that the gunman was in the bathroom with his back towards the basins shooting at an angle of 1.5m away from the toilet door.

Reeva was not sitting on the toilet when she was shot but was hiding according to her gun shot entry points.

The police also found the cricket bat and the toilet door was broken at the top.

Nel asked Botha if Pistorius was on the balcony and heard a noise in the bathroom, if it was possible to avoid the bed and Botha said no. He also mentioned that the bullets were shot at an angle from top down which could possibly mean that Pistorius had his prosthetic legs on at the time as the shots indicate a normal height.

The toilet window is too far up for anyone to climb in or out of.

Botha also said that Pistorius mentioned he had been a victim of crime in the past but Oscar has never reported so.

Someone mentioned that Pistorius accidentally let off a shot with another persons gun in a restaurant by accident and allowed a friend to take the rap for it to avoid media attention. Justin Divaris who gave a statement yesterday was also involved in the shot at the restaurant.

There was also an incident at a Kyalami race track where Pistorius threatened to assault a man over a woman.

A former football player Marc Batchelor stated to Botha that Pistorius threatened to break his legs.

Botha mentioned that Pistorius is afraid of crime and sleeps with a gun under his bed but leaves the balcony doors open when he sleeps.

The holster for Pistorius's gun was on the same side that Reeva slept. He confirmed that there were ladders found outside the house as Oscar stated because they were painting it but they were not near the bathroom window.

Pistorius claimed it was dark and a witness who lives 600m away from Pistorius's home saw the lights go on and heard gunshots and screaming. Another witness heard fighting or loud talking, a gunshot, a female screaming and more gunshots. They did not specify if it was Reeva and Oscar they heard.

Botha says that he does not believe Pistorius was trying to protect himself and his girlfriend, that he knew Reeva was in the bathroom and he deliberately shot her. He does not believe that it was self- defence.

Roux says that the substance found in the home is a herbal remedy and not a banned substance. The witness wa inaccurate about the number of gunshots she heard and the police did not ask the attorneys for Oscar's phone that they could not find at the scene.

Roux also said that Reeva had an empty bladder according to the post mortem and perhaps had gone to the toilet at 3am like Pistorius said.

He also asked Botha if they had checked to seee if Oscar had called Netcare and Botha said no they hadn't checked but security confirmed that Pistorius called their office crying for help. Roux said that Botha is biased in the investigation.

Autopsy showed no signs of assault or defensive wounds on Steenkamp and no evidence was found to show that Pistorius statement of events is false. There is no evidence to show that they were not in love.

Hilton Botha the investigating officer has been found to have seven cases of attempted murder against him and the State attorney was unaware of this information. Mr Botha has stated that they do not have phone records or any evidence as yet to prove that it was a premeditated murder.

During the court proceedings a female attorney stood up in court to say that this case effects th constitution of South Africa and that Pistorius should have his mental state examined and the court proceedings should be televised. The judge has told her to make an application to the high court.

Roux has explained that Pistorius assumed that there was an intruder in the toilet and there is no evidence to state any differently as both Reeva and Pistorius were in a loving relationship choosing to spend the night together and if he wanted to murder her deliberately he could have chosen to do so in the bedroom. He is saying that it should be a schedule five and not a six. The charge sheet stated murder and not premeditated murder. The evidence against Pistorius so far is weak and there is nothing to state anything different to what Pistorius's statement said.

Roux stated that Reeva's bladder was empty and there is no possibility that she could have gone to the toilet an hour before. He also said that Pistorius was fearful of crime and could have possibly warned Steenkamp of an intruder which encouraged her to lock the toilet door.

Judge Nair asked again if she could have emptied her bladder because of the trauma and Roux said it could be a possibility but there are lots of possibilities and so far Pistorius's version makes sense. The witness that heard shouting could not have heard from so far away. Roux also said that the prosecution is trying to mislead and Nair said that he would look into the credibility of Botha later.

Nair suggests that in the dead of the night it would be possible for a neighbour to have heard noises with the sliding door open and Roux says that if it was a neighbour someone should have measured the distance but nobody chose to do so and the witness statement is "too much of a leap and is not fair to include it in the case."

The witness stated there were two sets of three shots and screaming, Roux claims that this is vague as ballistics shows that there were four shots. Roux says that the states case is based on possibilities and the defence's case is based on probabilities and says that Botha was not a credible witness and that Pistorius is not a flight risk as he is well known. Botha stated that Pistorius would be a flight risk and later changed his mind.

Roux also said that there was no possibility that the cricket bat was used for anything other than what Pistorius said, which was to break the toilet door down and Botha said that the blood on the bat came from the scene and was not used on Reeva. Botha also admitted that he knew of no phone call that could have been evidence of a pre planned offence.

Botha is waiting for a hard copy of the phone logs and Pistorius put his head down after this news. Botha has been taken off the case and the police will have a press conference today at 4pm to inform the public of their decision.

Roux says that there are no witnesses and that the case will be decided on forensic evidence as you cannot confuse an argument with a pre - planned murder. Botha continued to say that Pistorius was a flight risk even after all the holes in his evidence.

Roux says he wants Nair to reconsider his ruling of a schedule 6 charge (premeditated) as there is not enough factual evidence to prove it is so and what Pistorius stated could be probable.

There are four affidavits (1 from Reeva's best friend) to say that Oscar and Reeva were in a loving relationship and there is no motive for murder and Oscar has a clean track record and no propensity to commit a crime and no history of violence.

Nel says that Oscar could be a flight risk as it was very important for him to get the memory stick out of the safe with offshore banking details on it. He says that the two cellphones in the bathroom indicate that there was an argument as one cellphone belonged to the accused and one to the deceased and also the way the gun was laid out on the floor shows that something went wrong. If Reeva needed the toilet at 3am why would she have taken her phone in with her and Pistorius shows disregard for what he has done. He is a flight risk and he has not taken what has happened here seriously as he suggested that "if there was a trial," he would be here for it. He also says that Oscar's claim in saying that he was a victim of crime was said for dramatic effect and there was no docket made.

Nel also says that Pistorius said he is an international sportsman and would no leave but would an international sportsman threaten to break someone's legs or tell them that he would" *f** them up!"

He also says that Pistorius gave a written affidavit instead of speaking in evidence as nobody can test a written affidavit.

Nel said that there were two people in the house and when Oscar heard a noise he immediately thought it was an intruder rather than the person staying with him and he also said that the love they had was not evident on the night of the shooting as Pistorius didn't even look to see if Reeva was alright when he heard a noise and he walked passed the bed twice.

Pistorius said he felt vulnerable and yet he armed himself and stormed the bathroom.

He intended to kill as he fired four shots, not one but four which shows intention to kill through a 1.4mx1.4m door.

Nel also asked if it was a coincidence that witnesses heard shouting at the same time or that they are suggesting that independant people lie even under oath.

The restaurant incident where the gun went off was not an issue but Pistorius asking someone else to take the blame is. One person in court could have given account but he elected for an affidavit.

Nel aksed if Pistorius is a violent person as he has threatened before and now there is a dead woman.

Nel said,"Why would an international athlete run? Why would an international athlete handle a firearm in public?"

The court is adjourned until 10am tomorrow morning.

IN THE REGIONAL COURT FOR THE REGIONAL COURT OF GAUTENG

HELD AT PRETORIA

In the matter between:

THE STATE

vs

OSCAR LEONARD CARL PISTORIUS

Accused

STATEMENT IN TERMS OF THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 60(11) OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT, 51 OF 1977

I, the undersigned:

OSCAR LEONARD CARL PISTORIUS

do hereby make oath and state:

I am an adult male and a South African citizen with identity number ------------------------

I am the Applicant in this application in which I seek relief from this Honourable Court to be released on bail. I respectfully submit, as I will demonstrate herein, that the interests of justice permit my release on bail. In any event, the dictates of fairness and justice in view of the peculiar facts herein warrant that I should not be deprived of my liberty and that I should be released on bail.

I make this affidavit of my own free will and have not in any way been unduly influenced to depose thereto.

The facts herein contained, save where expressly indicated to the contrary, are within my personal knowledge and belief, and are both true and correct.

AD APPLICATION IN TERMS OF SECTION 60(11) OF ACT 51 OF 1977 (“the Act”)

The purpose of this affidavit is to provide the above Honourable Court with my personal circumstances and to address the allegations levelled against me (in so far as they are known to me), as well as to address the factors to be considered by the above Honourable Court as contained in Sections 60(4) to 60(9) of the Act.

I have been advised and I understand that I bear the burden to show that the interests of justice permit my release and that I am obliged to initiate this application. I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated murder, as I had no intention to kill my girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp (“Reeva”). However, I will put factors before the Honourable Court to show that it is in the interests of justice to permit my release on bail.

I state that the State will not be able to present any objective facts that I committed a planned or premeditated murder. For this reason I will hereunder deal with the events which occurred that evening. The objective facts will not refute my version as it is the truth.

PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES

I am a professional athlete and reside at 286 Silverwoods Estate, Silverlakes Drive, Silverlakes, Pretoria.

I was born on 22 November 1986, at Johannesburg. I have resided in the Republic of South Africa (“the RSA”) all my life, and although I frequently travel abroad to participate in international sporting events, I regard South Africa as my permanent place of abode. I have no intention to relocate to any other country as I love my country.

I own immovable assets in South Africa, which consist of the following:

The immovable property in which I currently reside, at 286 Silverwoods Estate, Silverlakes Drive, Silverlakes, Pretoria (“the residential premises”). This property is valued at approximately R5 million and is encumbered by a mortgage bond in the amount of approximately R2 million.

Two further immovable properties located within Weeping Willow Estates, Pretoria East, which properties have a combined value of approximately R1,6 million. Both properties are bonded to an aggregate value of approximately R1 million.

A vacant stand in Langebaan, Western Cape, which has a value of approximately R1,7 million. This property is not bonded.

I own movable assets comprised of household furniture and effects, motor vehicles and jewellery, which are valued in excess of R500 000,00.

My friends and family reside in the RSA, although I also have friends abroad.

My professional occupation currently provides me with an income of approximately R5,6 million per annum.

I have cash investments in excess of R1 million at various banks within the RSA.

I have never been convicted of any criminal offences either in the RSA or elsewhere. There are no outstanding cases, other than the present, being investigated against me by the South African Police Services (“SAPS”).

MERITS

My legal representatives have explained the provisions of Section 60(11) of the Act to me. I respectfully make the following submissions in this regard:

I have been informed that I am accused of having committed the offence of murder. I deny the aforesaid allegation in the strongest terms.

I am advised that I do not have to deal with the merits of the case for purposes of the bail application. However, I believe that it is appropriate to deal with the merits in this application, particularly in view of the State’s contention that I planned to murder Reeva. Nothing can be further from the truth and I have no doubt that it is not possible for the State to present objective facts to substantiate such an allegation, as there is no substance in the allegation. I do not know on what different facts the allegation of a premeditated murder could be premised and I respectfully request the State to furnish me with such alleged facts in order to allow me to refute such allegations.

On the 13th of February 2013 Reeva would have gone out with her friends and I with my friends. Reeva then called me and asked that we rather spend the evening at home. I agreed and we were content to have a quiet dinner together at home. By about 22h00 on 13 February 2013 we were in our bedroom. She was doing her yoga exercises and I was in bed watching television. My prosthetic legs were off. We were deeply in love and I could not be happier. I know she felt the same way. She had given me a present for Valentine’s Day but asked me only to open it the next day.

After Reeva finished her yoga exercises she got into bed and we both fell asleep.

I am acutely aware of violent crime being committed by intruders entering homes with a view to commit crime, including violent crime. I have received death threats before. I have also been a victim of violence and of burglaries before. For that reason I kept my firearm, a 9 mm Parabellum, underneath my bed when I went to bed at night.

During the early morning hours of 14 February 2013, I woke up, went onto the balcony to bring the fan in and closed the sliding doors, the blinds and the curtains. I heard a noise in the bathroom and realised that someone was in the bathroom.

I felt a sense of terror rushing over me. There are no burglar bars across the bathroom window and I knew that contractors who worked at my house had left the ladders outside. Although I did not have my prosthetic legs on I have mobility on my stumps.

I believed that someone had entered my house. I was too scared to switch a light on.

I grabbed my 9mm pistol from underneath my bed. On my way to the bathroom I screamed words to the effect for him/them to get out of my house and for Reeva to phone the police. It was pitch dark in the bedroom and I thought Reeva was in bed.

I noticed that the bathroom window was open. I realised that the intruder/s was/ were in the toilet because the toilet door was closed and I did not see anyone in the bathroom. I heard movement inside the toilet. The toilet is inside the bathroom and has a separate door.

It filled me with horror and fear of an intruder or intruders being inside the toilet.

I thought he or they must have entered through the unprotected window. As I did not have my prosthetic legs on and felt extremely vulnerable, I knew I had to protect Reeva and myself. I believed that when the intruder/s came out of the toilet we would be in grave danger. I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps.

I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police. She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance. Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light. Reeva was not responding.

When I reached the bed, I realised that Reeva was not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet. I returned to the bathroom calling her name. I tried to open the toilet door but it was locked. I rushed back into the bedroom and opened the sliding door exiting onto the balcony and screamed for help.

I put on my prosthetic legs, ran back to the bathroom and tried to kick the toilet door open. I think I must then have turned on the lights. I went back into the bedroom and grabbed my cricket bat to bash open the toilet door. A panel or panels broke off and I found the key on the floor and unlocked and opened the door. Reeva was slumped over but alive.

I battled to get her out of the toilet and pulled her into the bathroom. I phoned Johan Stander (“Stander”) who was involved in the administration of the estate and asked him to phone the ambulance. I phoned Netcare and asked for help. I went downstairs to open the front door.

I returned to the bathroom and picked Reeva up as I had been told not to wait for the paramedics, but to take her to hospital. I carried her downstairs in order to take her to the hospital. On my way down Stander arrived. A doctor who lives in the complex also arrived. Downstairs, I tried to render the assistance to Reeva that I could, but she died in my arms.

I am absolutely mortified by the events and the devastating loss of my beloved Reeva. With the benefit of hindsight I believe that Reeva went to the toilet when I went out on the balcony to bring the fan in. I cannot bear to think of the suffering I have caused her and her family, knowing how much she was loved. I also know that the events of that tragic night were as I have described them and that in due course I have no doubt the police and expert investigators will bear this out.

FLIGHT RISK

I will stand my trial should it proceed against me. I am a well-known international athlete and there is no possibility that I will even think of not standing my trial should there be one. I trust the South African legal system and that the facts will show that I did not murder Reeva.

In order to persuade the above Honourable Court that I should be released on bail, I provide the following additional facts and information in terms of Section 60 of the Act.

AD SECTION 60(4)(a), READ WITH SECTION 60(5) OF THE ACT

I do not know the identity of any witness upon whom the State will rely in order to attempt to prove a case against me. In any event, I have no intention to interfere with any witnesses as I have no cause to do so and I undertake not to do so.

I maintain good relationships with people and I bear no grudges against anyone.

As previously stated, I have no previous convictions and I have not been released on bail pending any charges.

I am not disposed to violence.

AD SECTION 60(4), READ WITH SECTION 60(6) OF THE ACT

I respectfully submit that the facts set out above support my contention that I do not constitute a flight risk.

I have two South African passports, the one is full. I need my passport to compete overseas but I am willing to surrender the passports to the investigating officer should it be a condition of bail. I am not in possession of any other travel documents and undertake not to apply for such documentation pending the finalisation of these proceedings.

After the shooting I did not attempt to flee. Rather, I accepted Stander would contact the police, and I remained at the scene.

I will be able to raise an appropriate amount to post as bail.

AD SECTION 60(4), READ WITH SECTION 60(7) OF THE ACT

I have no knowledge of any evidentiary material which may exist with regard to the allegations levelled against me. In any event, I believe that whatever such evidence may be, it is in the possession of the police; it is safely secured and I do not have access thereto. I undertake not to interfere with any further investigations.

I am not sure which witnesses the State will rely upon in order to attempt to prove its case against me. Nonetheless, I undertake not to communicate with any witness, whoever he or she may be, and any other persons whose names may appear on a list of “State witnesses”, to be provided by the State.

My continued incarceration can only prejudice me and creates no benefit to the State.

AD SECTION 60(4)(e), READ WITH SECTION 60(8A)

I respectfully submit that should I be released on bail, my release shall not disturb the public order or undermine the proper functioning of the criminal justice system.

GENERAL

I will comply with such conditions as the above Honourable Court may wish to impose.

I accordingly submit that the interests of justice, considerations of prejudice and the balancing of respective interests favour my release on bail.

Nel begins with saying that," Oscar is a flight risk because he is not serious about what has happened. He passed Reeva three times in the bedroom and never thought to check if she was there. The fact that she was shot through her shorts says something and the fact that four shots were fired means that he intended to kill. One shot could have been fired from the passage and the other three in the toilet.

There is no evidence to say that Reeva's bladder was empty when she died and Nel said that the guard called Pistorius he did not make that call to the guard. He also chose to take her downstairs rather than try to save her life.

The two phones found in the bathroom are also questionable and the actual phone that Pistorius used was given to the defence and they did not hand it over.

The fact that Pistorius chose to inform us of the events in writing rather than tell us in person shows that he does not take this seriously."

Nel is concerned that Oscar Pistorius will try to flee the country should he be granted bail and he should not be treated differently because he has a disability or because he is famous.

The new investigating officer is in court Lieutenant General Vineshkumar Moonoo who is replacing Hilton Botha in the investigation.

Barry Roux responds. "If Pistorius acted outside what a reasonable man would have done than it could be culpable homicide. He did not want to kill Reeva."

Roux says it is not a schedule six offence and when he asked Botha for evidence contradicting Pistorius's statement, he didn't have any.

Barry Roux says that Oscar Pistorius is not a flight risk.

A decision on bail will be made today at 14h30 local time by Magistrate Desmond Nair.

Relative's of Reeva Steenkamp are in the courtroom to represent Reeva and will not comment on Pistorius.

Pistorius is sitting very still and motionless staring at the floor and his family are looking at Nair in anticipation.

Nair is going through the statement of Pistorius and affidavits from friends to say that Oscar is a humble person who was very much in love with Reeva.

Oscar is in tears whilst the magistrate is talking. The magistrate is repeating that Oscar has stated that he can raise bail, he will hand over his passport and will not speak to any witnesses.

Oscar is shaking and crying while Magistrate Nair is going through friends affidavits.

He has mentioned that Botha came to the scene and saw Reeva at the bottom of the stairs when Oscar's attorney came into the house to remove a memory stick from the safe in the kitchen which held details of an offshore bank account.

The deceased was wearing black shorts and a white top at the time of her death and was shot in the hand, hip and head and there was also a bullet hole in her shorts.

Shots were fired from the outside of the door and the key was found on the outside of the door along with two cellphones and the gun placed on a shower mat.

If someone were on the balcony you would have to pass the bed to get to the bathroom.

The ballistics experts confirmed that the gunshots were shot at an angle and there were witnesses to confirm that they heard shouting, screaming and gunshots.

A matter involving Oscar and another man was dealt with through attorneys after an altication.

9mm holster was found on the side of the bed where Reeva's slippers and overnight bag were.

As he is going through Botha's statement he says that Botha could not confirm his information and he did not ask for any other phones.

Oscar is still sobbing uncontrollably.

Oscar did not mention a dormant account in North Carolina in his affidavit.

Nair explains the legal definition of bail.

Magistrate Desmond Nair says that the state has only circumstantial evidence but it does not preclude it in being a schedule six offence.

Nair says that Botha did not do a thorough job of investigating evidence and that his concessions were vague but he was not the most senior officer but was just the first on the scene. Botha's evidence may have been tarnished but the state's case is not.

The only person that knew what happened is the accussed, Oscar Pistorius and they are dealing with circumstantial evidence.

It is impossible for the state to have all their evidence in one week and he has no doubt that they will have more information before the trial.

Nair says he has difficulty in appreciating why the deceased would not have screamed from the toilet or why Oscar would not have checked to see where his girlfriend was and why he would throw himself into more danger by going to where the intruder was thought to be and why the accussed chose to sleep on the opposite side of the bed for that particular night.

He says he does not see Pistorius as a flight risk and past events do not show enough evidence to establish violent tendencies. None of the factors that needed to be established have not been given.

The Magistrate Desmond Nair has GRANTED BAIL.

Oscar's bail was set at R1million.

He must appear in court on the 4th June 2013 at 8:30.

He is to surrender all passports and is not allowed to apply for any others.

Oscar is to refrain from entering any airport.

He is not to talk to any of the witnesses.

Pistorius is to refrain from possessing any firearms and he is to hand in any others that he has.

He will have a probation officer and correctional official from the date of release until the case is concluded.

He must inform the official of all his movements and he needs permission for journeys outside of Pretoria.

He will give them a phone number and must be contactable day and night.

Oscsr must not be charged for any offence or violence against women.

He must not use drugs or alcohol.

He must not return to his home or make contact with anyone from his estate, except the Stander Family.

The state has appointed Gerri Nel to prosecute the case. He is known to be thorough, highly qualified and experienced. Nel is most famous for sending ex - interpol president and South Africa's former police chief Jackie Selebi after proving he had taken bribes from an organised crime unit.

Gerri Nel will argue that Oscar Pistorius planned the murder of Reeva Steenkamp.

Barry Roux SC was admitted to the bar in 1982 and his practice consists of criminal, aviation, insurance, matrimonial, medical negligence and delictual. He is one of the country's top trial lawyers. He prosecuted Roger Kebble, the father of the slain Brett Kebble. He is ethical and does his best for his clients.

Kenny Oldwage, also on his legal team, who acted for the driver in a 2010 accident that killed fromer President Nelson Mandela's great grandchild. The driver was aquitted.

Oscar's legal team has also represented the late Lolly Jackson in the Michael Kalymnios case.

Pistorius has also hired one of the country's top forensic pathologists, Reggie Perumal. He has recently been called in to testify about last years shooting of 34 striking miners at the Marikana mines.

They are going to prove that it was not a premeditated murder.

Handling his public relations is Stuart Higgins, a former editor of the British tabloid The Sun, who's list of clients include Manchester United football club, British Airways and Chelsea fotball club.

Nike has suspended their endorsment contract with Oscar Pistorius.

"We believe Oscar should be afforded due process and we will continue to monitor the situation closely."

Mugler has dropped Pistorius from its advertising and the cosmetics company 'Clarins' said it was recalling its A*Men perfume range, made in conjunction with Mugler and endorsed by Pistorius out of "respect and compassion towards the families involved."

Pistorius was said to have paid R700 000 for the week to his attorneys.

His endorsments and sponsorships included BT, Oakley and French designer Thiery Mugler at an estimate of 1.3million pounds per year.

Oscar's attorney made an application to appeal the terms of bail.

Judge Bert Bam ruled that Pistorius will have to hand his passport to his lawyer and should he need to travel he will need to provide an itinerary to the National Prosecuting Authority. Pistorius has immovable assets and is not seen as a flight risk. Should he be invited to compete than he will be allowed to leave the country providing he hands over his passport within twenty - four hours of his return.

The judge also ruled that the conditions of his presence at his Silverwoods Estate and reporting to the Brooklyn Police Station be set aside.

The ban from alcohol was also lifted and Judge Bam called Judge Nair's ruling "unreasonable and unfair and misdirected himself."

Thank you to Paul Owen and David Smith of the Guardian U.K for information on the trial.

The case has been postponed to 18th August as the State waits for evidence to finalise.

Oscar was in court yesterday the 19th August 2013, Reeva Steenkamps 30th birthday!

The trial has been set for March 2014.