- .Claims made after neighbour said she heard woman's screams after shots
- .Witness Michell Burger said she 'heard her voice just after the last shot'
- .Lawyer Barry Roux said the model would have 'dropped down immediately'
- .Pistorius seen bent double in dock and wiped away tears with handkerchief
- .Mr Roux said screams were from Pistorius in 'stage of heightened anxiety'
- .Claims gunshots were actually athlete breaking down door with cricket bat
- .Another neighbour tells court she heard what sounded like a row that night
- .Second day of trial interrupted after TV station showed picture of witness
Oscar Pistorius broke down in court today as his defence lawyer argued that Reeva Steenkamp was so badly brain damaged by the gunshot to her head she couldn't possibly have screamed.
Advocate Barry Roux made the claims in response to a neighbour's testimony that she heard a woman's screams after shots were fired on the night the model was killed.
He told the court: 'We will have experts state that there was serious brain damage after the shot to the head, that it would not have been possible for her to scream at all.
'With the head shot, she would have dropped down immediately.'
The Paralympian was seen bent double in the dock, with his hands behind his head, as the court heard details of the bullets hitting Miss Steenkamp and the removal of fragments from her head during the post mortem.
A relative handed him a handkerchief which he used to wipe tears from his eyes.
Back in the dock: Oscar Pistorius talks to his legal team before the start of the second day of his murder trial
Accused: The Paralympian appears to cover his ears as he sits in the dock at the high court in Pretoria
Deep in thought: The double-amputee denies murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp
Prosecution lawyer Gerrie Nel interjected to say it was the last of four shots that struck Steenkamp's head, the first two hitting her right side, the wall and her shoulder.
Mr Roux's comments came during fierce cross-examination of one of the state's key witnesses, Michell Burger, a university lecturer who lives near the athlete's Pretoria home.
Ms Burger replied: 'As I said yesterday, I heard her voice just after the last shot. It could have been that it was at the last shot was fired.'
Her account was backed up by her husband, Charl Johnson, who said he also heard a woman's screams before and after gunshots.
He said: 'We were under the impression someone had been attacked in their house in a very secure complex.
'I remember during the succession of shots I heard a lady scream again and shortly after the last shot.'
Pensive: Pistorius's account does not make reference to a woman screaming at the time of the shooting
Keeping in the loop: The sprinter looks at paperwork with a member of his legal team
The sprinter's defence had earlier come under further attack by another neighbour, Estelle van der Merwe, who lives less than 100 metres away, told the court she heard arguing coming from Pistorius's home that night.
'I woke up the morning at 1.56am to sounds of someone talking loudly and fighting,' she told the court. 'It lasted about an hour.'
In an emotive second day of the murder trial, Ms Burger wept in the witness stand as she told how she was still haunted by the screams she heard that night.
'When I'm in the shower, I relive her shouts. The terrifying screams,' she told the North Gauteng High Court.
Ms Burger, who faced a second day of questioning, has testified to a sequence of events on the night of February 14 last year which contradicts the athlete's story.
She told yesterday that she heard 'blood-curdling' screams from a woman before, during and after shots rang out in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.
The sequence of events, if accurate, would undermine the Paralympic gold medallist's claim that he shot Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder.
Close: Oscar Pistorius speaks to his brother Carl (right) during the second day of his trial
Support: Pistorius's brother Carl and sister Aimee listen to evidence on the second day of the trial
Carl Pistorius listens proceedings at the High Court in Pretoria where his brother is accused of murder
Mr Roux today sought to undercut her evidence further, suggesting that she was changing her story partly because she had not told police in a statement last year that she had heard screaming during the gunshots.
Mr Roux argued that the screams she heard were in fact those of his devastated client after realising that he had mistakenly killed his girlfriend.
He said: 'It was a stage of heightened anxiety. It was a pinnacle... It was him screaming, absolutely anxious.'
Mr Roux also grilled Ms Burger over the number of shots she heard - and whether they were gunshots at all.
He suggested she may have mistaken the shots for the sound of Pistorius breaking the toilet door with a cricket bat after realising that Miss Steenkamp was inside.
Ms Burger, who lives near Pistorius's home, rejected the assertion, saying the intervals between each shot were too quick to have been made by bat being swung against an object.
Scrutiny: Pistorius makes his way through a media scrum before entering the courtroom in Pretoria
Mr Roux was also sceptical that she could hear fear and anxiety in the voice of a woman in a toilet cubicle with a closed door.
'I will invite the state to go and do a test' to see if the sound would carry, Mr Roux said.
Ms Burger stuck to her account, saying the area where she lives is tranquil and near a nature reserve, and that the windows of her house were open because there is no air conditioning.
'It's very quiet,' she said. 'Sound carries.'
Prosecutor Mr Nel objected to Mr Roux's sometimes acerbic interrogation, saying it was repetitive.
But Judge Masipa allowed the questioning to proceed and warned Ms Burger she would be 'in that witness box' for a lot longer unless she gave direct answers.
'You don't give an explanation,' Judge Masipa said. 'If the answer is yes, you say yes. If it's no, you say no. If you don't know, you say you don't know.'
Ms Burger later broke down in the witness box, wiping tears from her eyes with tissue, at the end of her cross-examination before being discharged.
The court also heard from a second witness, neighbour Estelle van der Merwe, who testified that she heard what sounded like an argument early on the morning Steenkamp was killed.
'From where I was sitting it seemed like two people were having an argument, but I couldn't hear the other person's voice,' she said through an Afrikaans language interpreter.
Taking cover: The 27-year-old claims he accidentally shot Miss Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder
Oscar Pistorius shelters from the rain as he makes his way to North Gauteng High Court for the second day of his murder trial
Earlier, the trial was dramatically adjourned over claims a television station breached a court order by broadcasting a picture of a witness.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel interrupted the cross-examination of Michell Burger less than 30 minutes into proceedings, saying he had been informed that her image was being shown.
Judge Thokozile Masipa ordered an immediate investigation into allegations, adding: 'I must say this is very disturbing. This may just be the tip of the iceberg
'I must warn the media that you are not going to be treated with soft gloves.'
Ms Burger, a university lecturer who lives near the Paralympian's home, yesterday told the court she heard 'blood-curdling' screams followed by four gunshots on the night Reeva Steenkamp was killed.
South African television station eNCA was broadcasting a live audio feed of her second day of testimony when it used a still photograph of her, Mr Nel said in court.
He said the photo was captioned: 'On the stand: Michell Burger, Pistorius neighbour.'
Face to face for the first time: Oscar Pistorius takes his seat in the courtroom for the start of his murder trial as Reeva Steenkamp's mother (second right) looks on
Emotional: June Steenkamp (left) shows the strain of her very first encounter with Pistorius as she waits for the start of his trial. She says she will be ready to forgive him whatever verdict is handed down
Mr Nel said eNCA contacted the court clerk to ask if it could run a photograph of the witness that it had obtained from outside the court.
The court said no, Mr Nel said, adding: 'They still went ahead and did it.' He said the outlet found the photo 'somewhere else'.
eNCA has denied breaching the order by showing footage of a witness.
According to its Twitter account, it used a still image of Ms Burger from her university website.
Another judge ruled last week that parts of Pistorius's trial could be broadcast on live TV - in South Africa and around the world - but witnesses who request privacy, like Ms Burger, would not be shown.
An audio only feed of their evidence would then be broadcast.
The evidence of expert witnesses for the state and police officers can be broadcast on television, but witnesses for the state who request privacy as well as Pistorius and his defence witnesses will not be seen on television or in still images - unless they give their permission.
Accused: Pistorius claims he accidentally shot Miss Steenkamp (pictured) after mistaking her for a burglar
Pistorius, 27, a double amputee known as the Blade Runner for his carbon-fibre running blades, pleaded not guilty to murder and three unrelated gun charges on the opening day of the trial.
Ms Burger said she heard a woman scream and a man shouting for help before the sound of gunshots on the night a year ago.
Pistorius says he was the only person to shout after thinking there was a dangerous intruder inside his bathroom.
He says he then shot his girlfriend through a toilet door by mistake.
Scene: A police officer stands guard outside Pistorius's luxury home in Pretoria in the hours after he shot Miss Steenkamp on February 14 last year
Yesterday, Pistorius formally pleaded not guilty to murdering Miss Steenkamp after walking past the victim's mother who said she wanted to 'really look him in the eyes' for the very first time.
The double amputee responded 'not guilty, my lady' after a state prosecutor read out a charge that he 'unlawfully and intentionally did kill' his girlfriend on Valentine's Day last year.
The court was then read a statement from the Paralympian in which he claimed he had mistakenly thought there was an intruder in his home, leading him to open fire in an attempt to protect himself.
The statement, read by his defence lawyer while the athlete remained standing, said the scene had been contaminated and disturbed.
In it, the Paralympian said he did not intend to kill his then girlfriend that night and they had not argued that night.
He said: 'I deny this allegation in the strongest terms because there was no argument. The allegation that I wanted to shoot (or kill) Reeva cannot be further from the truth.'
Reading out the statement, defence lawyer Kenny Oldwadge said Pistorius said he brought two fans in from the balcony on the night of the killing after speaking to his girlfriend who was in bed beside him.
He said Miss Steenkamp must have gone into the bathroom while he was fetching the fans. He said he did not notice she had gone and heard the bathroom window open.
'I approached the bathroom, armed with my firearm, so as to defend Reeva and I,' Pistorius said in the statement.
He said he then heard a noise in the toilet and was in a 'fearful state' because he was unable to run away or defend himself physically since he was not wearing his prosthetic legs.
'The state has embarked on a strategy to rely on unsubstantiated allegations,' he said, citing a neighbour's evidence that an argument had been heard in his home.
According to Pistorius's statement, other neighbours living nearby said they had not heard any argument.
He also cited evidence provided by police detective Hilton Botha as 'false in material respects'.
'The scene was contaminated, disturbed and tampered with,' the defence statement said.
'This feature of the state's case will be dealt with when Botha, among others, gives evidence.'
SOUTH AFRICA'S TOP LAWYERS GO HEAD-TO-HEAD ON THE BIGGEST STAGE
THE PROSECUTOR
Gerrie Nel, right, is considered South Africa's top state prosecutor.
Gerrie Nel, right, is considered South Africa's top state prosecutor.
He is most famous for sending to jail ex-Interpol president and South Africa's former police chief Jackie Selebi, proving he had taken bribes from an organised crime network.
The prosecution won him an award from the International Association of Prosecutors, but he has not always emerged unscathed from his tangles with power .
In 2008, at the height of the Selebi controversy, Nel was arrested by armed police in front of his family.
Charges of fraud, perjury and 'defeating the ends of justice' were eventually dropped, with commentators decrying an attempt to discredit him.
His elite investigations unit, the Scorpions, was later disbanded amid allegations it was pursuing graft and other charges against now President Jacob Zuma with politically motivated zeal.
It was then he joined the government prosecutor's office.
Nel is described as a master of presenting evidence by legal analysts.
In Pistorius's bail hearing last year, Nel painted a picture of Pistorius as a man who was 'willing and ready to fire and kill' and Steenkamp as cowering, terrified and hiding in the toilet before Pistorius shot through the toilet door to kill her.
'She couldn't go anywhere,' Nel said in court last February. 'It must have been horrific.'
THE DEFENSE
Barry Roux, right, has been described even by other attorneys as South Africa's best defense lawyer.
Barry Roux, right, has been described even by other attorneys as South Africa's best defense lawyer.
His cross-examination of police detective Hilton Botha in Pistorius's bail hearing last February was so extensive that Botha, who was later removed from the case, had to concede that nothing about Pistorius's version of events could be disproved at the time.
Roux, an attorney for about 30 years, also succeeded in getting the court to agree to release Pistorius on bail of 1 million rand (then $113,000) despite the fact that the double-amputee athlete was charged with premeditated murder.
He also got another court to relax some of Pistorius' strict bail conditions on appeal.
With 31 years experience in the legal fraternity, Roux has taken on some of the most controversial cases in South Africa.
In the 1990s he defended apartheid-era general Lothar Neethling, who sued a newspaper over claims that he supplied poison used against anti-apartheid activists.
He also secured a much-reduced settlement in the tax evasion trial of Dave King, a Glasgow-born businessman.
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