Most Oscar-Reeva messages ‘loving’

“There was a disagreement and unhappiness, but if you look at the emails it was resolved very quickly,” Barry Roux, SC, for Pistorius said.

Police cellphone analyst Captain Francois Moller responded: “That’s correct my lady.”

Roux said: “Ninety percent of the messages were loving. I think it’s a bit higher, the percentages, but it’s not important.”

Moller continued to read out transcripts of messages between the couple he had downloaded from their mobile phones.

Pistorius is on trial for the premeditated murder of Steenkamp, who was shot through the locked toilet door of his Pretoria home on February 14 last year. He said he had mistaken her for an intruder.

He has pleaded not guilty and in his plea statement denied they had argued shortly before the shooting. He also faces two charges related to contraventions of the Firearms Control Act.

On Monday, the court heard that on February 8, 2013, Steenkamp sent a message to Pistorius that said: “I can’t be attacked by outsiders for dating you, and attacked by you.”

She said he was the one person who was supposed to protect her.

The couple argued after they had attended an event.

The court heard that she sent him a message at 10.27am on February 8, that said: “Morning Ozzy” and he replied: “Morning baba (baby).”

Various other exchanges between the couple were highlighted including when Pistorius sent a message to Steenkamp saying: “xxx” and she replied: “xxxxx”.

Moller was asked to read out various messages between the two sending each other kisses and using pet names.

Roux pointed out interaction between the two where Steenkamp sent a photograph of herself to Pistorius where she is blowing him a kiss.

This was a different picture of the relationship compared to the one painted on Monday.

On Monday, the court heard how Steenkamp was afraid of Pistorius, as Moller read out WhatsApp messages between the couple where she said he was short-tempered and overly critical of her.

A message Steenkamp sent on January 27, 2013, read: “You have picked on me excessively… I do everything to make you happy and you do everything to throw tantrums…

“I’m scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me and of how you will react to me. You make me happy ninety percent of the time and I think we are amazing together… but I am not some other bitch… trying to kill your vibe…”

Steenkamp said the paralympian snapped at her and criticised her for how she spoke, the way she chewed gum and accents she put on. She said she just wanted to be loved and to love and told him she was “very unhappy and sad”.

Pistorius cried in the dock on Monday as the messages were read out.

In his response to her, the athlete apologised but complained that she had ignored him and had spoken to another man.

Moller said 90 percent of the messages exchanged between the couple were “normal conversation” and many were “loving”.

The trial is expected to continue until May 16.

– Sapa