– It's day two of Oscar Pistorius on the witness stand, and if you're wondering, yes, he did once again reportedly vomit in court at the sight of photos of Reeva Steenkamp's body. Yesterday's session was adjourned early due to the athlete feeling "exhausted," but today doesn't seem to be shaping up to be much easier. In this morning's testimony, Pistorius walks the court through some troubling texts (they were sent on a "bad day," he says) and read out loud more mundane and loving ones, while crying. "I miss you more than anything," Steenkamp wrote on one occasion. "I replied with smiley faces and kisses," he says. One word getting a good deal of attention: "besotted." That's how Pistorius described his attraction to Steenkamp from the get-go; "I think I was maybe more into her than she was at times with me,” he said, per the New York Times. After the lengthy text-reading session, Pistorius started to walk the court through the events of Feb. 13 and 14. He says he put on his pajamas around 7pm, after having dinner with Steenkamp. She did yoga on the bedroom floor; he called a cousin and discussed cars. They both went to the bathroom, then went to bed. "Reeva was sitting up and I was lying with my head on her stomach." The two also exchange Valentine's Day gifts, but he didn't open his that night. He ultimately unwrapped his—four framed photos of the couple—on Steenkamp's birthday in August, reports the Telegraph. The fateful moment, as he tells it: "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." He says as he moved toward the noise he screamed at the intruders and "shouted for Reeva to get on the floor. ... Just before I got to the bathroom 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." Court was then adjourned for lunch. The BBC expects him to be cross-examined this afternoon. One other notable moment from the morning: His lawyer had Pistorius remove his prosthetic legs. The Telegraph describes it as "a poignant demonstration of ... his vulnerability on his stumps to lodge in the judge's mind as she listened to his description of events."

Expand this summary.
Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| South African athlete Oscar Pistorius gave evidence for a second day at his murder trial 
  
 For the first time he gave evidence in court about the night he shot Reeva Steenkamp 
  
 The athlete earlier told the court about their relationship, saying he was "besotted" 
  
 On Monday he made a tearful apology to the family of Ms Steenkamp 
  
 On Tuesday he was again unable to make it through the full day without being overcome with emotion ||||| Photo Advertisement Continue reading the main story 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 PRETORIA, South Africa — It was bold, splashy and theatrical, the kind of flourish more often seen in courtroom dramas than in real-life murder trials. In the middle of his emotional and harrowing testimony on Tuesday, the champion sprinter Oscar Pistorius stood up in full view of the packed courtroom, removed his prosthetic legs and demonstrated in a few ungainly steps how very vulnerable and exposed he can be with only his stumps to depend on. 
  
 The moment came on a grueling day in which a shaky, tearful Mr. Pistorius for the first time gave a full account of what he says happened the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. And it went toward bolstering the case the defense is trying to make: that Mr. Pistorius, the world’s most celebrated disabled athlete, is at the same time an anxious and physically fragile man who sprayed bullets through the door of his bathroom in a panic because he believed someone had broken into his house. 
  
 “I was overcome with fear,” he said of the moment he says he heard noises coming from outside his bedroom early on Feb. 14, 2013. “I started screaming and shouting for the burglars to get out of my house. I shouted for Reeva to get on the floor. I shouted for her to phone the police.” 
  
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 The trial has dominated the news here in South Africa. Born without fibulae, bones that connect the knee to the ankle, Mr. Pistorius lost his lower legs to amputation when he was a baby, but with his talent, perseverance and charm went on to become a bona fide South African hero. An inspirational sprinter who scooped up medals in able-bodied as well as disabled competitions, he carried the flag for South Africa at the closing ceremony in the 2012 Olympics in London. 
  
 In addition to the attention surrounding a trial involving a high-profile star athlete, the case has raised other issues: about South Africa’s gun culture; about the country’s laws covering self-defense and its no-jury trial system; about the fear of violent crime that many people here say they always carry with them; and about how women are treated by handsome and seemingly entitled celebrities like Mr. Pistorius. The trial, which began nearly a month ago and is expected to last into May, is receiving gavel-to-gavel coverage, with its own dedicated cable channel and all-day radio program. 
  
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 By Mr. Pistorius’s account, Feb. 13, 2013, had been a routine evening in his fledgling romance with Ms. Steenkamp, 29, a law graduate and model he had met several months earlier and with whom he said he was “besotted.” The two had eaten dinner together at Mr. Pistorius’s house in a gated Pretoria development and then gone upstairs to his bedroom. There they whiled away the evening texting, surfing the Internet, watching television and chatting before eventually falling asleep. 
  
 In earlier testimony, Mr. Pistorius, 27, read through an almost numbing litany of text messages he had exchanged with Ms. Steenkamp, replete with endearments and emoticons. That was part of the defense’s effort to establish that contrary to the prosecution’s account, the pair had a loving and supportive relationship, one that had weathered earlier disagreements and had reached the point where they could relax happily together at his house. 
  
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 The night was hot and muggy, Mr. Pistorius testified, and his air-conditioning was not working. He woke up in the middle of the night, spoke to Ms. Steenkamp, who he said was also awake, and then — without turning on the lights or putting on his prosthetic legs — went to the balcony next to his bedroom to move the electric fans he had set up there, he said. 
  
 Continue reading the main story Video 
  
 Then, he says, he heard a noise, and the mundane turned to the horrifying. 
  
 “My lady, that’s the moment that everything changed,” he told Judge Thokozile Masipa, his voice faltering and fading in and out of audibility. “I thought that a burglar had entered my home. Initially I froze. I didn’t know what to do. The first thing that ran through my mind is that I needed to protect myself,” he said, “that I needed to protect Reeva and I.” 
  
 Mr. Pistorius is accused of murdering Ms. Steenkamp by shooting her four times in a fit of violent rage as the two argued late into the night. If convicted of the most serious of the charges against him, he faces at least 25 years in prison. 
  
 He contends that there was no argument at all, that it was a tragic mistake, that he grabbed his gun from under the bed and went down the hall in search of the intruders. By his account, he believed that Ms. Steenkamp had remained in bed, in their dark bedroom, because he had spoken to her before getting up and that she failed to respond to his screams because she feared for her own safety from intruders. 
  
 But it was tough going. Even under the mildest of questioning by his own defense lawyer, Barry Roux, Mr. Pistorius stuttered, paused, cried, lowered his voice to a whisper and at times could barely maintain his composure. And when he got to the crucial part of his story — the part where he fired through the bathroom door, believing himself in danger, only to discover Ms. Steenkamp’s blood-spattered body inside a few moments later — he began weeping. 
  
 Continue reading the main story Video 
  
 “I was just panicked at this point,” he said, describing how he had taken the cricket bat he kept in his bedroom and used it to batter down the locked door. “I don’t think I’ve ever cried like that or screamed like that. I was crying out for the Lord to help me. I was crying out for Reeva.” 
  
 After bashing the door open, he said, he sat over Ms. Steenkamp’s body. “I sat over Reeva and I cried,” he said — for how long, he cannot remember. “She wasn’t breathing.” 
  
 At that point in his testimony he broke down completely, and could not go on. 
  
 The court took a hasty break, and Mr. Pistorius’s brother, sister and aunt gathered around the witness stand to comfort him. But his gasping sobs continued to reverberate through the quiet and shocked courtroom. The court was forced to adjourn early. 
  
 Mr. Pistorius has not yet finished his testimony. But his lack of composure on Tuesday does not augur well for how he will stand up under cross-examination by the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, who is known for his aggressive, unforgiving questioning and his ability to break down witnesses. 
  
 “If he’s genuinely emotional, when he gets put under pressure he’ll be worse than he is now, and Nel will carve him up into little pieces,” said Martin Hood, a defense lawyer here. “If he is destroyed, his story is destroyed, and he’ll get convicted. But if his demeanor changes when he’s cross-examined and he becomes a stronger witness, then his credibility is also questioned.” 
  
 Mr. Hood said that Mr. Pistorius’s emotional unpredictability made him a tricky bet as a defense client, since lawyers need to know how clients will respond to questioning. And he said that until it is subject to rigorous scrutiny through cross-examination, Mr. Pistorius’s story remains just that: a story. 
  
 “Cross-examination is the single most important tool in getting to the truth of the situation,” Mr. Hood said. “It’s very easy to say it happened this way, but if you don’t test it, you’ll never know the truth.” |||||
– Det är dag två av Oscar Pistorius i vittnesbåset, och om du undrar, ja, han gjorde återigen uppges spy i domstol vid åsynen av bilder av Reeva Steenkamps kropp. Gårdagens session avbröts tidigt på grund av idrottsmannens känsla av "uttömd", men idag verkar inte vara mycket lättare. I morses vittnesmål går Pistorius igenom några oroande texter (de sändes en "dålig dag", säger han) och läser högt upp mer vardagliga och kärleksfulla, medan de gråter. "Jag saknar dig mer än något annat", skrev Steenkamp vid ett tillfälle. "Jag svarade med småleende ansikten och kyssar", säger han. Ett ord som fick stor uppmärksamhet: "besatt". Det var så Pistorius beskrev sin dragning till Steenkamp från början; "Jag tror att jag kanske var mer förtjust i henne än hon var ibland med mig", sade han, per New York Times. Efter den långa textläsningen började Pistorius gå igenom händelserna 13 och 14 februari. Han säger att han tog på sig pyjamasen runt 19.00, efter att ha ätit middag med Steenkamp. Hon gjorde yoga på sovrumsgolvet; han ringde en kusin och diskuterade bilar. De gick båda på toa och sen gick de och lade sig. "Reeva satt uppe och jag låg med huvudet på magen." De två utbyter även alla hjärtans dag-gåvor, men han öppnade inte sin den kvällen. Han öppnade slutligen sina – fyra inramade bilder av paret – på Steenkamps födelsedag i augusti, rapporterar Telegraph. Det ödesdigra ögonblicket, som han berättar det: "Jag hörde fönstret öppnas i badrummet. Det är i det ögonblicket som allt har förändrats. Jag trodde en inbrottstjuv skulle komma in i mitt hem. Det första jag tänkte på var att jag behövde skydda Reeva och mig själv." Han säger att när han rörde sig mot ljudet skrek han åt inkräktarna och "skrik för att Reeva skulle komma på golvet. ... precis innan jag kom till badrummet hörde en dörr smälla. Det kan bara ha varit toalettdörren. Det bekräftade att det fanns en person eller människor inne i badrummet vid den tiden." Rätten ajournerades sedan till lunch. BBC förväntar sig att han korsförhörs i eftermiddag. Ett annat anmärkningsvärt ögonblick från morgonen: Hans advokat lät Pistorius ta bort sina protesben. Telegrafen beskriver det som "en gripande demonstration av ... hans sårbarhet på sina stubbar för att inge i domarens sinne när hon lyssnade till hans beskrivning av händelser." Utöka denna sammanfattning.
“It’s day two of Oscar Pistorius in the stand, and if you’re wondering, yes, he did again reportedly vomit in court at the sight of images of Reeva Steenkamp’s body. Yesterday's session was interrupted early due to the athlete's sense of "exhausted", but today doesn't seem much easier. This morning's testimony, Pistorius goes through some disturbing texts (they were broadcast on a "bad day," he says) and reads aloud more mundane and loving, while they cry. "I miss you more than anything," Steenkamp wrote at one point. "I answered with smiley faces and kisses," he says. A word that got a lot of attention: "possessed." That's how Pistorius described his attraction to Steenkamp from the beginning; "I think I might have been more fond of her than she was sometimes with me," he said, per the New York Times. After the long text reading, Pistorius began to review the events of February 13 and 14. He says he put on his pajamas around 7 p.m., after having dinner with Steenkamp. She did yoga on the bedroom floor; he called a cousin and discussed cars. They both went to the bathroom and then they went to bed. "Reeva sat up and I slept with my head on my stomach." The two also exchange Valentine's Day gifts, but he did not open his that night. He finally opened his – four framed pictures of the couple – on Steenkamp's birthday in August, reports Telegraph. The fateful moment, as he tells it, "I heard the window open in the bathroom. It's at that moment that everything has changed. I thought a burglar would come into my home. The first thing I thought about was that I needed to protect Reeva and myself." He says that as he moved towards the sound, he yelled at the invaders and "screams for Reeva to come on the floor. ... justbefore I got to the bathroom, a door slammed. It could have just been the toilet door. It confirmed that there was a person or people inside the bathroom at that time." The court was then adjourned for lunch. The BBC expects him to be cross-examined this afternoon. Another remarkable moment from the morning: His lawyer had Pistorius remove his prosthetic legs. The telegraph describes it as "a poignant demonstration of ... his vulnerability on his stumps to enter the mind of the judge as she listened to his description of events." Extend this summary.
Med början 1996 har Alexa Internet donerat sina krypdata till Internet Archive. Dessa data flödar in varje dag och läggs till i Wayback Machine efter en embargoperiod. Den sydafrikanske friidrottaren Oscar Pistorius gav bevis för en andra dag vid sin mordrättegång För första gången han gav bevis i domstol om natten han sköt Reeva Steenkamp Idrottsmannen berättade tidigare för domstolen om deras förhållande, säger att han var "besotted" På måndagen gjorde han en tårfylld ursäkt till familjen till Steenkamp På tisdag var han återigen oförmögen att klara sig igenom hela dagen utan att övervinnas med känslor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mitt under sitt känslosamma och harvande vittnesmål på tisdagen ställde sig mästarspurtaren Oscar Pistorius upp i full vy över den packade rättssalen, tog bort sina protesben och demonstrerade i några få oegennyttiga steg hur mycket sårbar och utsatt han kan vara med endast sina stubbar att lita på. Ögonblicket kom på en ansträngande dag, i vilken en skakig, tårfylld mr Pistorius för första gången gav en fullständig redogörelse för vad han säger hände natten han sköt och dödade sin flickvän, Reeva Steenkamp. Och det gick mot att stärka det fall försvaret försöker göra: att Mr Pistorius, världens mest berömda funktionshindrade idrottare, är samtidigt en orolig och fysiskt bräcklig man som sprutade kulor genom dörren till sitt badrum i panik eftersom han trodde att någon hade brutit sig in i hans hus. “Jag var överväldigad av rädsla,” sade han om det ögonblick han säger att han hörde ljud från utanför sitt sovrum tidigt den 14 februari 2013. — Jag började skrika och skrika åt inbrottstjuvarna att de skulle komma ut ur mitt hus. Jag skrek åt Reeva att lägga sig på golvet. Jag ropade att hon skulle ringa polisen.” Foto Rättegången har dominerat nyheterna här i Sydafrika. Född utan fibula, ben som förbinder knäet med vristen, förlorade Mr Pistorius sina underben till amputation när han var ett barn, men med sin talang, uthållighet och charm gick vidare till att bli en äkta sydafrikansk hjälte. En inspirerande sprinter som snappade upp medaljer i såväl arbetsföra som handikappade tävlingar, han förde flaggan för Sydafrika vid avslutningsceremonin i OS 2012 i London. Förutom uppmärksamheten kring en rättegång som involverar en framstående stjärnidrottare har fallet väckt andra frågor: om Sydafrikas vapenkultur, om landets lagar som täcker självförsvar och dess rättegångssystem utan mened, om rädslan för våldsbrott som många här säger att de alltid bär med sig, och om hur kvinnor behandlas av stiliga och till synes namngivna kändisar som Mr Pistorius. Rättegången, som inleddes för nästan en månad sedan och förväntas pågå in i maj, får givel-till-gavel täckning, med sin egen dedikerade kabelkanal och hela dagen radioprogram. Advertisement Fortsätt läsa huvudberättelsen Av Mr Pistorius konto, 13 februari 2013, hade varit en rutinkväll i hans nyblivna romans med Ms Steenkamp, 29, en juristexamen och modell han hade träffat flera månader tidigare och med vilken han sade att han var "besotted". De två hade ätit middag tillsammans i Mr Pistorius hus i en grindad Pretoria utveckling och sedan gått upp till sitt sovrum. Där höll de på att skicka bort kvällstexterna, surfa på Internet, titta på TV och chatta innan de till slut somnade. I tidigare vittnesmål läste mr Pistorius, 27 år, igenom en nästan bedövande litany av sms han hade utväxlat med ms Steenkamp, full av ömhetsbetygelser och smilis. Detta var en del av försvarets strävan att slå fast att i motsats till åklagarens berättelse hade paret ett kärleksfullt och stödjande förhållande, ett förhållande som hade vittrat tidigare meningsskiljaktigheter och hade nått den punkt där de kunde koppla av lyckligt tillsammans i hans hus. Annons Fortsätt läsa huvudberättelsen Annons Fortsätt läsa huvudberättelsen Natten var varm och muggig, vittnade Mr Pistorius, och hans luftkonditionering fungerade inte. Han vaknade mitt i natten, talade med ms Steenkamp, som han sade också var vaken, och sedan — utan att tända ljuset eller sätta på sina protesben — gick till balkongen bredvid sitt sovrum för att flytta de elektriska fläktar han hade ställt upp där, sade han. Fortsätt läsa huvudberättelsen Video Sedan, säger han, hörde han ett ljud, och den vardagliga vände sig till det fasansfulla. — Min dam, det är det ögonblick, då allt förändrades, sade han till domaren Thokozile Masipa, hans röst vacklande och tynande in och ut ur hörbarheten. — Jag trodde, att en inbrottstjuv hade kommit in i mitt hem. Till en början frös jag. Jag visste inte vad jag skulle göra. Det första jag tänkte på var att jag behövde skydda mig själv, sade han, "att jag behövde skydda Reeva och mig." Mr Pistorius anklagas för att ha mördat ms Steenkamp genom att skjuta henne fyra gånger i ett anfall av våldsam ilska som de två argumenterade sent in på natten. Om han döms för det allvarligaste av anklagelserna mot honom, riskerar han minst 25 års fängelse. Han hävdar, att det inte fanns något argument alls, att det var ett tragiskt misstag, att han tog sin pistol under sängen och gick nedför hallen på jakt efter inkräktarna. Enligt hans redogörelse trodde han att ms Steenkamp hade stannat kvar i sängen, i deras mörka sovrum, eftersom han hade talat med henne innan hon reste sig och att hon inte svarade på hans skrik eftersom hon fruktade för sin egen säkerhet från inkräktare. Men det var tufft. Äfven under det mildaste af förhör af sin egen försvarsadvokat, stammade Barry Roux, mr Pistorius, gjorde ett uppehåll, ropade, sänkte rösten till en viskning och kunde stundom knappt bibehålla sin fattning. Och när han kom till den avgörande delen av sin berättelse — den del, där han sköt genom badrumsdörren, i tron sig i fara, endast för att upptäcka miss Steenkamps blodsprängda kropp inne några ögonblick senare — började han gråta. Fortsätt läsa huvudberättelsen Video “Jag var bara panik vid denna punkt,” sade han, beskriver hur han hade tagit cricket slagträ han förvarade i sitt sovrum och använde det för att slå ner den låsta dörren. — Jag tror inte att jag någonsin gråtit så där eller skrikit så där. Jag ropade på att Herren skulle hjälpa mig. Jag ropade efter Reeva.” Efter att ha slagit upp dörren, sade han, han satt över Ms Steenkamp kropp. — Jag satt över Reeva och jag grät, sade han — hur länge, han kan inte komma ihåg. ”Hon andades inte.” Vid den punkten i hans vittnesmål bröt han ner helt och hållet, och kunde inte fortsätta. Rätten tog en hastig paus, och herr Pistorius bror, syster och moster samlades kring vittnesbåset för att trösta honom. Men hans flämtande snyftningar fortsatte att genljuda genom den tysta och chockade rättssalen. Rätten tvingades ajournera tidigt. Mr Pistorius har ännu inte avslutat sitt vittnesmål. Men hans brist på lugn på tisdagen gör inte gott för hur han kommer att ställa sig under korsförhör av åklagaren, Gerrie Nel, som är känd för sitt aggressiva, oförsonliga ifrågasättande och sin förmåga att slå ner vittnen. — Om han verkligen är känslosam, när han blir utsatt för påtryckningar, blir han sämre än han är nu, och Nel skall skära upp honom i små bitar, sade Martin Hood, en försvarsadvokat här. — Om han blir förstörd, förstörs hans berättelse, och han blir fälld. Men om hans uppförande förändras när han korsförhörs och han blir ett starkare vittne, då hans trovärdighet också ifrågasättas. " Hood sade att Mr Pistorius känslomässiga oförutsägbarhet gjorde honom till en knepig satsning som försvarsklient, eftersom advokater behöver veta hur klienter kommer att svara på förhör. Och han sade att till dess att det är föremål för noggrann granskning genom korsförhör, så förblir Mr Pistorius historia just detta: en berättelse. “Krossundersökning är det enskilt viktigaste verktyget för att komma till sanningen om situationen,” Mr. Hood sa det. “Det är mycket lätt att säga att det hände på det här sättet, men om du inte testar det, kommer du aldrig att veta sanningen.”
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South African athlete Oscar Pistorius gave evidence for a second day at his murder trial For the first time he gave evidence in court on the night he shot Reeva Steenkamp The athlete told the court earlier about their relationship, saying he was "besotted" On Monday he made a tearful apology to the family of Steenkamp On Tuesday he was again unable to make it through all day without being overcome with emotion <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> <unk> In the midst of his emotional and harrowing testimony on Tuesday, champion purpator Oscar Pistorius stood up in full view of the packed courtroom, removing his prosthetic legs and demonstrating in a few disinterested steps how much vulnerable and exposed he can be with only his stumps to be trusted. The moment came on an exhausting day, in which a shaky, tearful Mr. Pistorius for the first time gave a full account of what he says happened the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. And it went towards strengthening the case the defense is trying to make: that Mr Pistorius, the world's most famous disabled athlete, is at the same time a troubled and physically fragile man who sprayed bullets through the door of his bathroom in panic because he thought someone had broken into his house. “I was overwhelmed by fear,” he said of the moment he says he heard sounds from outside his bedroom early on February 14, 2013. “I started screaming and yelling at the burglars that they would come out of my house. I yelled at Reeva to lie down on the floor. I cried out that she would call the police.” Photo The trial has dominated the news here in South Africa. Born without a fibula, legs connecting his knee to his ankle, Mr. Pistorius lost his lower legs to amputation when he was a child, but with his talent, endurance and charm went on to become a genuine South African hero. An inspiring sprinter who intercepted medals in both able-bodied and disabled competitions, he carried the flag for South Africa at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics in London. In addition to the attention of a trial involving a prominent star athlete, the case has raised other questions: about South Africa's weapons culture, about the country's laws covering self-defense and its trial system without perjury, about the fear of violent crimes that many here say they always carry with them, and about how women are treated by handsome and seemingly named celebrities such as Mr. Pistorius. The trial, which began almost a month ago and is expected to last into May, receives givel-to-gable coverage, with its own dedicated cable channel and all day radio program. Advertisement Continue reading the main story By Mr. Pistorius account, February 13, 2013, had been a routine evening in his recent romance with Ms. Steenkamp, 29, a law degree and model he had met several months earlier and with whom he said he was "besotted". The two had had dinner together in Mr. Pistorius' house in a gated Pretoria development and then went up to his bedroom. There they were sending away the evening texts, surfing the Internet, watching TV and chatting before they finally fell asleep. In previous testimony, Mr. Pistorius, 27, read through an almost stunning litany of text messages he had exchanged with Ms. Steenkamp, full of affections and emoticons. This was part of the defense's effort to establish that contrary to the prosecution's story, the couple had a loving and supportive relationship, a relationship that had weathered previous differences and had reached the point where they could relax happily together in his house. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Advertisement Continue reading the main story The night was hot and muggy, testified to Mr Pistorius, and his air conditioning did not work. He woke up in the middle of the night, spoke to Ms. Steenkamp, whom he said was also awake, and then — without lighting the lights or putting on her prosthetic legs — went to the balcony next to her bedroom to move the electric fans he had set up there, he said. Continue reading the main story Video Then, he says, he heard a sound, and the everyday turned to the horrific. — My lady, it is the moment when everything changed, he said to Judge Thokozile Masipa, his voice faltering and fading in and out of audibility. “I thought that a burglar had entered my home. At first, I froze. I didn't know what to do. The first thing I thought about was that I needed to protect myself, he said, "that I needed to protect Reeva and me." Mr. Pistorius is accused of murdering Ms. Steenkamp by shooting her four times in an attack of violent anger that the two argued late into the night. If convicted of the most serious of the charges against him, he risks at least 25 years in prison. He claims that there was no argument at all, that it was a tragic mistake, that he took his gun under the bed and went down the hall in search of the invaders. According to his account, he believed that Ms. Steenkamp had remained in bed, in their dark bedrooms, because he had spoken to her before getting up and that she did not respond to his screams because she feared for her own safety from intruders. But it was tough. Even during the mildest of interrogations by his own defense lawyer, Barry Roux, Mr. Pistorius, stuttered, paused, cried, lowered his voice to a whisper, and could sometimes scarcely maintain his composure. And when he came to the decisive part of his story — the part where he shot through the bathroom door, believing himself in danger, only to discover Miss Steenkamp's bloodshot body inside a few moments later — he began to cry. Continue reading the main story Video “I was just panicking at this point,” he said, describing how he had taken cricket bat he stored in his bedroom and used it to knock down the locked door. “I don’t think I’ve ever cried like that or screamed like that. I called for the Lord to help me. I called for Reeva.” After opening the door, he said, he sat over Ms. Steenkamp’s body. — I sat over Reeva and I cried, he said — how long, he can't remember. “She did not breathe.” At that point in his testimony, he broke down completely, and could not continue. The court took a hasty break, and Mr. Pistorius' brother, sister, and aunt gathered around the stand to comfort him. But his gasping sobs continued to resonate through the quiet and shocked courtroom. The court had to adjourn early. Mr Pistorius has not yet finished his testimony. But his lack of calm on Tuesday does not do good for how he will put himself under cross-examination by the prosecutor, Gerrie Nel, who is known for his aggressive, irreconcilable questioning and his ability to knock down witnesses. “If he really is emotional, when he is under pressure, he gets worse than he is now, and Nel will cut him up into small pieces,” said Martin Hood, a defense lawyer here. — If he is destroyed, his story is destroyed, and he is convicted. But if his conduct changes when he is cross-examined and he becomes a stronger witness, then his credibility is also questioned." Hood said that Mr. Pistorius' emotional unpredictability made him a tricky venture as a defense client, because lawyers need to know how clients will respond to questioning. And he said that until it is subject to careful scrutiny by cross-examination, Mr. Pistorius's history remains just this: a story. “Cross examination is the single most important tool to get to the truth about the situation,” Mr. Hood told me. “It’s very easy to say that it happened this way, but if you don’t test it, you’ll never know the truth.”