The prosecution will continue its case
for Pistorius to serve a jail term for
shooting dead his girlfriend, Reeva
Steenkamp.
Pistorius, 27, was found guilty of
culpable homicide last month, but was
cleared of murder.
He faces up to 15 years in jail,
although the judge may suspend the
sentence or impose a fine.
The defence has argued that Pistorius
should serve house arrest and
community service for the killing - a
suggestion branded as "shockingly
inappropriate" by prosecutor Gerrie
Nel.
The prosecution insists that Pistorius
should go to jail, saying his negligent
actions have left a "broken family".
On Wednesday, Reeva Steenkamp's
cousin Kim Martin recounted her pain
at hearing that the 29-year-old South
African model had been shot dead.
She said her death was "the end of the
world".
Ms Martin was the prosecution's first
sentencing witness. Mr Nel has said he
will call three of four witnesses in all.
Wednesday's hearing began with Mr
Nel continuing to cross-examine social
worker Annette Vergeer.
The defence witness had said double-
amputee Pistorius should be placed
under house arrest rather than sent to
prison, because he would be "a lot
more vulnerable than the normal
man" in jail.
Mr Nel said her opinion of a sentence
of house arrest plus community
service "cannot be considered".
"If the court sentence is too light, and
society loses trust in the court, they
will take the law into their own
hands," Mr Nel said.
"That's what the court has to guard
against."
The Paralympic sprinter denied
murdering Ms Steenkamp after a row
on Valentine's Day last year, saying he
shot her by mistake.
Ms Steenkamp, a law graduate, was hit
three times by bullets shot through a
toilet door by Pistorius at his home in
the capital, Pretoria.
Inside Oscar Pistorius's home
Balcony
Mr Pistorius said he and Ms
Steenkamp had dinner at about
19:00 before going to bed at
21:00. He said he woke in the early
hours, spoke briefly to his girlfriend
and got up to close the sliding door and curtains.
Judge Thokozile Masipa questioned
the reliability of several witnesses
who said they heard screams and
gunshots between about 03:12 and 03:17, saying most had 'got facts wrong'.
Bathroom noise
Mr Pistorius said he heard the
bathroom window sliding open
and believed that an intruder, or
intruders, had entered the
bathroom through a window
which was not fitted with burglar bars.
Mr Pistorius said he grabbed his
firearm and told Ms Steenkamp,
who he thought was still in bed, to
call the police.
The judge said it made no sense
that Ms Steenkamp did not hear him
scream 'Get out' or call the police, as
she had her mobile phone with her.
Shooting
Mr Pistorius could see the bathroom
window was open and toilet door
closed.
He said he did not know
whether the intruders were outside
on a ladder or in the toilet. He had his firearm in front of him,
he heard a movement inside the
toilet and thought whoever was
inside was coming out to attack
him.
'Before I knew it, I had fired four
shots at the door,' he said.
The judge said she did not accept
that Mr Pistorius fired the gun by
accident or before he knew what
was happening. She said he had
armed himself with a lethal weapon
and clearly wanted to use it. The other question, she said, was why
he fired not one, but four shots
before he ran back to the room to
try to find Ms Steenkamp.
Bedroom
Mr Pistorius said he went back to
the bedroom and noticed that Ms
Steenkamp was not there.
Mr Pistorius said this was when he realised she could have been in the
toilet and rushed back to the bathroom.
Toilet door
Mr Pistorius said he screamed for
help and went back to the
bathroom where he found the
toilet was locked. He returned to
the bedroom, pulled on his
prosthetic legs and turned on the lights before bashing in the toilet
door with a cricket bat.
When the door panel broke, he
found the key and unlocked the
door and found Ms Steenkamp
slumped on the floor with her head
on the toilet bowl. He then carried
her downstairs, where he was met by neighbours.
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