Witness cries during testimony

This happened when prosecutor Gerrie Nel asked Michelle Burger about her state of mind when she gave her statement to police.

“What were your emotions at the time of making the statement?” he asked.

“Raw emotion,” she replied, her voice breaking as she began to cry, reaching for her purse to get a tissue.

She was questioned about a statement she made to Captain Mike van Aardt about the events on the morning of February 14 last year.

She said she relived Reeva Steenkamp’s screams while in the shower.

Shortly before this, Nel asked her if it would have been possible for a cricket bat to make rapid bangs in succession when striking a door.

Burger said no as one would have to swing the bat, which would cause a delay between the bangs.

Pistorius broke down the door of his toilet with a cricket bat after he shot Steenkamp through it.

Burger has testified that she heard four bangs coming from Pistorius’s home, 177m from her own townhouse.

“Bang… bang, bang, bang,” she described them to the court, marking a pause between the first and second bangs.

Barry Roux, for Pistorius, has questioned whether Burger confused the sound of the cricket bat striking the door with shots.

The State will try to prove that Pistorius committed premeditated murder when he shot and killed Steenkamp through the toilet door in his Pretoria home.

In addition, he is charged with premeditated murder, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition, and recklessly discharging a firearm in public.

Pistorius contends he mistook her for an intruder when he shot through the toilet door.

– Sapa