Oscar Pistorius was 'torn apart' after shooting girlfriend

Pretoria Oscar Pistoriuss murder trial resumed Monday with a neighbour and friend giving a heartwrenching account of finding the broken athlete coming down the stairs holding his dead girlfriend in his armsOscar PistoriusAfter a twoweek break in the trial the defence called Johan Stander the first man to arrive at the crime scene after the Paralympic gold medallist shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentines Day last yearOom Afrikaans for uncle Johan please please please come to my house I shot Reeva Stander says Pistorius told him over the phoneWhen he arrived at Pistoriuss upmarket Pretoria home Stander described seeing the athlete carrying Steenkamp a 29yearold model and law graduate down the stairsHe was screaming he was crying he was praying said Stander a man with grey hair and glasses who spoke in a hoarse voiceThe expression on his face an expression of sorrow an expression of pain hes crying hes praying said Stander It was as if he was torn apartStander who said he considered himself a friend of the 27yearold Pistorius said the night was not something he would want to experience againPistorius was broken desperate pleading said Stander How he begged God to keep her aliveI saw the truth that morning I saw it and I feel it he saidDefence on the attackPistoriuss lawyers will spend at least the next two weeks trying to firm up the athletes account of the killing and counter the states claim he shot his girlfriend after an argumentUnder days of ferocious crossexamination last month Pistorius appeared to change his defence casting doubt on his credibilityThe runner initially told the court that he shot Steenkamp through a locked toilet door thinking she was an intruder coming to attack him in the dead of nightBut buckling under pressure the Paralympian who soared to international fame as the first doubleamputee to run against ablebodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics changed his testimony to say he fired the four shots accidentallyState prosecutor Gerrie Nel has accused the athlete of tailoring his evidence calling his account of the killing a lieBeginning his crossexamination of Stander Nel asked him if Pistorius ever said to him that he had fired accidentallyHe never said I accidentally shot her said Nel He said thought she was an intruderDefence lawyer Barry Roux later called Standers daughter Carice Viljoen who said she heard a man calling for help in the dead of the night apparently supporting the defence version of events that it wasnt Steenkamp screaming but PistoriusI could hear a man shouting meaning there must be terrible trouble she saidPistorius nicknamed the Blade Runner faces up to 25 years in prison if he is found guilty of premeditated murderHe fired four bullets through a lavatory door killing Steenkamp who was in the cubicle inside the athletes house in an upmarket housing complex in the capital PretoriaProsecutors have argued that the Valentines Day shooting came after a row between the couple who had been dating for around three monthsThe trial was adjourned until Tuesday after Roux said he had no more witnesses to call on MondayProceedings will also break on Wednesday which has been declared a public holiday for South Africas general election before resuming on ThursdayAmong the witnesses expected to give evidence this week is a psychologist who will speak to the athletes physical vulnerability after details emerged in court of his obsession with gunsAt times the world famous sprinter has wept and retched in court in a trial that is being broadcast live on televisionHis emotional outbursts including loud wailing and sobbing on several occasions have forced presiding Judge Thokozile Masipa to halt the proceedings several times to allow Pistorius to compose himself