A neighbour of South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has told a court in Pretoria that she was awoken by a woman’s “terrible screams” in the early hours of 14 February 2013.
Mr Pistorius has pleaded not guilty at the start of his trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
He shot dead the 29-year-old model and reality TV star at his home, saying he mistook her for an intruder.
The neighbour, Michelle Burger, said cries for help were followed by shots.
“She screamed terribly and she yelled for help. Then I also heard a man screaming for help. Three times he yelled for help,” Ms Burger told the high court in the capital.
She said she called security and then heard four gunshots.
The arrest of the national sporting hero astounded South Africa.
The 27-year-old double amputee won gold at the London 2012 Paralympic Games and also competed at the Olympics.
‘Traumatic’
For the first time in South Africa, parts of the trial are being televised live, although Ms Burger’s testimony in Afrikaans was only relayed in audio.
The start to proceedings at the court in the capital on Monday was delayed by 90 minutes as a Afrikaans translator was absent.
The BBC’s Andrew Harding in the courtroom says Mr Pistorius looked calm, or at least neutral as he arrived in court – a far cry from the emotional wreck he seemed at the bail hearing last year.
Source: BBC