Oscar Pistorius continued his testimony in Pretoria court Tuesday, in the high-profile murder trial of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He said Steenkamp's last words were, "Can't you sleep,my baba?"
Pistorius is charged with killing Steenkamp. He told the court that the he went numb after he thought a burglar entered his Pretoria house. "I wasn't sure where to point the firearm," he said.
"My eyes were going between the windows and the toilet. I stood for some time. I just stayed where I was and kept on screaming. Then I heard a noise from inside the toilet that I perceived to be somebody coming out of the toilet. Before I knew it, I had fired four shots at the door," he said, reports The Independent.
Pistorius broke down in the court as he recalled the killing of Steenkamp, 29. "I sat over Reeva and I cried. I don't know how long I sat there," he said. "She was not breathing." The 27-year-old paralympian wailed and sobbed uncontrollably.
He said he woke up in the night due to extreme heat and saw that the door leading to the balcony was open. Before sleeping he told Steenkamp to shut the door and to bring in the fans from the balcony. Pistorius said, "Reeva was still awake. She rolled over to me and said, 'Can't you sleep, my baba?'"
He further said that he got up and brought the fans inside the room before closing and locking the sliding door and drew the curtains. "It was at this point that I heard a window open in the bathroom... I could hear it hitting the frame. It is at that moment that everything changed," he told the court, reports Pretoria News.
Pistorius said he thought a burglar broke in to the house. "I think I just froze. I heard this noise and I interpreted it as someone climbing into the bathroom... They could be there any moment. The first thing which went through my mind was that I needed to get my gun, that I needed to protect Reeva and I," he told the court.
The double amputee athlete said that he took his gun and went toward the bathroom. "Just as I left the bed I whispered to Reeva to get down and phone the police." He said that he was afraid as he approached the bathroom and shouted at the burglar to leave the house. "I shouted for Reeva to get down and phone the police. I shouted at the person to get out of my house," he said adding that a door slammed, which he though could be only the toilet door. He became sure of someone being inside the bathroom.
He said that he called Steenkamp multiple times to call the police. However, he did not say why she did not respond. "I fired four shots. My ears rang and I again called to Reeva." He then said that he went to bed where he felt for Steenkamp. But he did not find her there.
Then he thought that he might have accidentally shot Steenkamp. He then went to the bathroom and found it locked. He then put on his prosthetic legs. "I did not want to believe it was Reeva in there. I opened the curtains and shouted from the balcony, then screamed 'Help, help... help' for somebody to help me. I was panicked. I didn't know what to do. I was screaming and shouting the whole time," he testified. "I was screaming and shouting the whole time. I don't think I have ever screamed or cried like that. I was crying out to the Lord to help me. I was crying out to Reeva," he said.
Pistorius then took a bat to force open the bathroom door only to find his girlfriend in a pool of blood. "I sat over Reeva and I cried," he said after which he broke down uncontrollably. Following this, Judge Thokozile Masipa adjourned the hearing for the day.
