Oscar Pistorius has told how he cried over the body of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
The Paralympian took to the stand for the second time today (08.04.14) as he told the court of the moments before and after he shot his girlfriend dead and how he broke down when he realised what he’d done.
Speaking about the moment he realised she wasn’t in bed, he said: "I ran straight up to the [toilet] door and started hitting it … I tried to open the door from inside. I unlocked the door. I saw Reeva and sat over her and cried. I don’t know how long I was there for.
"She wasn’t breathing."
The 27-year-old sprinter – who claims he didn’t have his prosthetic legs on during the incident – denies the intentional killing of Reeva, 29, instead insisting he shot her after mistaking her for an intruder.
He explained: "I heard the window opening in the bathroom. That is the moment that everything changed. I thought a burglar was gaining entry into my home.
"The first thing that ran through my mind was that I needed to protect Reeva and myself.
"I could not see anything in the room … I made my way along the bed and grabbed my firearm. I took off the canvas holster of my firearm.
"As I entered the passageway leading to the bathroom I felt fear and started screaming [at the intruders] to get out. I slowly made my way down the passage constantly aware that these people may come at me at any time.
"Just before I got to the bathroom I heard a door slam. It could only have been the toilet door. It confirmed that there was a person or people inside the bathroom at that time."
After firing four shots through the toilet door, Oscar claims he ran back to his bedroom on his stumps to see if Reeva had called for the police and he described the moment he realised she was no longer there.
He said: "I lifted myself up to the bed and placed my hand to the right hand side of the bed and I felt if Reeva was there and I couldn’t feel anything.
"It was at that point it first dawned on me that it could be Reeva inside the toilet."
The trial continues.
Oscar Pistorious cried over Reeva Steenkamp’s body
