Pistorius ill as fatal wound shown

On trial, Oscar Pistorius was asked if he intended to kill Reeva Steenkamp. Courtesy: CNN

Became physically ill ... Oscar Pistorius arrives at the high court in Pretoria. Source: AP

JUNE Steenkamp, mother of the late Reeva Steenkamp, approached prosecutor Gerrie Nel after he compared her late daughter's head to a watermelon and showed a shocking and graphic image of her fatal wound to the court during the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.

Live television coverage of the trial was blocked and the proceedings adjourned after a photograph, clearly showing Reeva Steenkamp's face in profile and the head wound, was shown on courtroom monitors.

Seconds earlier, after an initial objection from the defence, Nel had shown the court a video of Pistorius firing a pistol at a watermelon at a shooting range.

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Shocking and graphic image ... June Steenkamp, Reeva's mother, is comforted by family lawyer Dup de Bruyn, as they listen to cross questioning of Oscar Pistorius. Source: AP

The hollow-point ammunition being used by Pistorius caused the watermelon to explode. A voice, which Pistorius acknowledged was his, can be heard saying, "It's a lot softer than brain, but it is like a zombie-stopper".

Nel put it to Pistorius that the effect that the bullet had on the watermelon was the same as that which struck Steenkamp in the head.

"Have a look," he said. "It's about time you did. It's time you took responsibility for what you did."

"I don't have to look at it," Pistorius said, sobbing. "I remember. I was there."

The image then appeared on the monitors and, for several seconds before being blocked by broadcasters, was shown on the live television feed.

When Pistorius became distressed and physically ill, the trial was adjourned.

During the break June Steenkamp, who has remained composed throughout proceedings, left her seat to speak to Nel. Pistorius's brother Carl and sister Aimee, visibly upset, conferred with the defence team.

When the court resumed 15 minutes later Nel, who had attacked Pistorius aggressively from the first question of his cross-examination, was markedly softer in his approach.

Fatal attraction ... Oscar Pistorius and girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who he is accused of murdering. Source: AP

Nel began his cross-examination by saying: "You killed Reeva Steenkamp, that is what you did." "I made a mistake," Pistorius replied.

"People look up to you as a sport hero," the prosecutor said. "I know a lot of people's opinions of me have changed," Pistorius answered.

Asked by Nel whether he lived according to "strictly Christian principles," the athlete said: "I try to. The Lord said he came down to this world for people who have sins. I am human. I am here to tell the truth."

Earlier, Pistorius told the court Miss Steenkamp was still alive for a short time after being shot.

On his third day of giving evidence the double-amputee Olympian said Miss Steenkamp, his girlfriend of four months, was "struggling to breathe" after he had shot her through a locked toilet door on Valentine's Day last year.

His evidence was contrary to that delivered earlier in the trial by expert witnesses for the prosecution who asserted that death would have been instantaneous after one of four shots fired through the door struck Miss Steenkamp in the head.

Pistorius is charged with the premeditated murder of the 29 year-old law graduate and model. The prosecution case is that he deliberately shot Miss Steenkamp in a fit of rage. Pistorius has told the court he fired believing he was about be attacked by an intruder.

In his final direct evidence before being cross-examined by prosecutor Nel, Pistorius told how he used a cricket bat to gain entrance to the locked toilet and saw Miss Steenkamp lying bleeding on the floor.

He sat down and pulled her towards him.

"I had Reeva's head on my left shoulder," he said. "I could feel the blood running down. I tried to pick Reeva up. I didn't know what to do. I could see she was breathing … struggling to breathe."

Pistorius said after calling an ambulance he carried Miss Steenkamp downstairs to the ground floor of his home.

She died in his arms.

"I just sat with her waiting for the ambulance to arrive. I felt helpless. I wanted to take her to the hospital. I had my fingers in her mouth to help her to breathe. I had my left hand on her hip trying to stop the bleeding but Reeva had already died when I was holding her before the ambulance arrived so I knew there was nothing I could do for her."

When paramedics arrived one asked Pistorius to produce some identification for Miss Steenkamp. After he had handed over her handbag, the paramedic officially informed him of Miss Steenkamp's death.

With Miss Steenkamp's body still lying in the sitting room Pistorius sat on the kitchen floor, leaning against a serving counter and crying.

"Every time I looked up there were more people in the house, more policemen," he said. "I asked a policeman if I could wash my hands because the smell of blood was making me throw up.

"I stayed in the kitchen. I couldn't look around the corner because every time I saw Reeva I got sick."

The final question asked of Pistorius by his defence attorney Barry Roux before handing over to Nel was: "Did you ever intend to kill Reeva Steenkamp?"

His answer: "I did not intend to kill Reeva or anyone else, my Lady."

Third day of giving evidence ... Oscar Pistorius at the high court in Pretoria. Source: AP

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