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Oscar Pistorius: "I approached the bathroom with my firearm, so as to defend Reeva"
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.
At the scene
It does not take much for a matter to become political here in South Africa. Members of the local African National Congress Women's League, singing struggle songs, gathered outside the court in Pretoria where Oscar Pistorius has gone on trial for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp. "We are here for Reeva," they told me.
For hours before his arrival, the media camped out waiting for the "blade runner". There is massive interest in the case - it is possibly the most publicised case since Jacob Zuma was cleared of rape in 2006, three years before he became president.
With the eyes of the world on South Africa, the justice system will be eager to show it favours no-one. For the Steenkamp family, the trial is a harsh reminder of their loss; it is also the first time that Reeva's mother, June, has come face-to-face with the Olympic athlete.
"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.
Mr Pistorius's uncle, brother and sister are also in court; next to them on the relatives' bench is the family of Ms Steenkamp, including her mother June, our correspondent says.
"Start Quote
End QuoteAll the state has to do is prove that the athlete was lying about any single aspect of his bail-hearing testimony for Mr Pistorius to be in deep water"
Mr Pistorius pleaded not guilty to all charges, including the "wilful and intentional murder of Reeva Steenkamp" as the trial began.
His lawyer read out a statement from the athlete, giving his version of events of how Ms Steenkamp died, saying he believed his girlfriend was in bed when he shot at the toilet door in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year.
Ms Burger told the court she lived nearby on a neighbouring gated estate to Mr Pistorius in Pretoria - and she and her husband were sleeping with the windows open.
"It was very traumatic for me. You could hear blood curdling screams," she said.
State prosecutors say Mr Pistorius planned the killing and shot Ms Steenkamp after a row.
Clickable 3D model of Oscar Pistorius' house
If found guilty of premeditated murder, he could face life imprisonment.
He has also been charged with illegally possessing ammunition.
There are no juries at trials in South Africa, and his fate will ultimately be decided by Judge Thokozile Masipa.
Much of the case will depend on ballistic evidence from the scene of the shooting, correspondents say.
On the anniversary of the shooting, Mr Pistorius released a rare statement in which he said: "The loss of Reeva and the complete trauma of that day, I will carry with me for the rest of my life."
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