Oscar trial continues

On Monday, the court heard Pistorius was distressed after shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day last year.

The court heard testimony from defence witnesses Johan Stander and his daughter Carice Viljoen, the paralympian’s neighbours in the Silver Woods Estate in Pretoria.

Pistorius, who says he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder, has been charged with murdering her.

Stander and Viljoen were the first people who arrived on the scene after the shooting.

“We saw Mr Pistorius coming down the stairs with Reeva in his arms. When Mr Pistorius saw us there was relief in his face.”

He said that when Pistorius reached the bottom of the stairs Viljoen asked him to put Steenkamp down so they could see what was wrong.

“He was really crying. He was in pain and he asked us to please assist him to put Reeva in the car and take her to the hospital,” he said.

Pistorius is also charged with three contraventions of the Firearms Control Act — one of illegal possession of ammunition and two of discharging a firearm in public.

He has denied guilt on all charges.

– Sapa