Cellphone image of Oscar Pistorius leaving the Pretoria High Court on Monday, 3 March 2014 on the first day of his murder trial. Photo: SAPA
He was carrying a blue umbrella and a laptop bag, and wore a black suit and dark tie.
Pistorius entered the dock and began speaking to a police officer.
He then turned around and briefly spoke to his family who sat in the gallery behind him.
Pistorius’s lawyer Brian Webber was also seen in court.
Pistorius is accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14 last year. He pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder, and contraventions under the Firearms Control Act, including possession of ammunition without a licence. He claims he mistook Steenkamp for a burglar.
The first witness, Michelle Burger, took the stand on Monday and testified that she heard a woman’s “blood-curdling” screams coming from his house on the night of the shooting. Cross-examination of Burger was due to continue on Tuesday at 9.30am.
The proceedings in the wood-panelled courtroom were broadcast live on television and radio, with the initial indictment listing 107 witnesses to testify for the State.
Judge Thokozile Masipa presided and swore in assessors Janet Henzen-Du-Toit and Themba Mazibuko.
– Sapa
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