9:04 am
Pistorius is really struggling again.

He's been given a green bucket.

9:03 am
Dr Botha says there's no way Reeva would have been able to raise her right arm to protect herself.

He compares the injury she suffered from the gunshot with an amputation.

Her right lower arm would not have been capable of functioning at all, he says.

9:00 am
Dr Botha says he suspects the third shot was the one which injured the left hand then hit the toilet wall ricocheting off the tiles.

Reeva would have "dropped considerably".

The bullet missed the torso and the head but went through her left hand.

She then fell down and fell against the magazine rack.

It was in this position as she fell down she incurred the last shot to the right side of her head.

8:59 am
Pistorius has his head in his hands again.

Dr Botha says the gunshot wound to Reeva's hip would have cause her to fall down.

The second shot would have struck her right arm "shattering her humerus".

8:58 am
Dr Botha is talking about Reeva's injuries now.

He says he has a "reasonable idea" of what happened.

"It think in all probability the first shot was the right hip," he says.

He says Reeva would have been stood up and close to the door.

This would explain splinters from the door in her arm.

8:56 am
Roux puts it straight to Dr Botha that Prof Saayman suggested the last meal could have been a few hours befre death.

Dr Botha says it could be true but could also be "considerably longer".

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:10 am
Dr Botha says he does not think if the shots were fired in rapid succession there's no way Reeva could have called out or made noise.

Pistorius is holding his head with his hands and seems to have been sick again.

9:07 am
Dr Botha is talking about the effect of Reeva's injuries.

He says she would have been left in shock.

He thinks death ensued "fairly quickly" after Reeva suffered the gunshot to the head.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Nel comes out all attack... and frankly it comes across as daft

It's like a toy poodle jumping up to attack somebody.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:15 am
Gerrie Nel is now starting a cross-examination.

He is straight on the attack.

He is being asked about a report by another private pathologist's report.

He says he has seen it but did not use it to reach any conclusions.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Nel "stamps his little foot" and says "I'm not answering YOUR question"

He is coming across as a petulant little boy.

I think he has been reading forums that have said he needs to "grow a pair".... but it is coming across as quite silly.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:27 am
Dr Botha is now claiming no certainty of the order of gunshots.

They are labelled A, B, C and D on the door which is still in court.

9:24 am
Dr Botha says he has no "certainty" on the order of the gunshots.

This is a complete contradiction to his evidence minutes earlier when he gave an explanation.

9:19 am
It's getting very testy between Nel and this witness now.

9:17 am
Nel is being really aggressive.

He's going at Dr Botha's conclusions and keeps saying "I'm going to challenge you on this".

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Back wound:


Close-up

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

9:48 am
Gerrie Nel pushes Botha until he concedes that it is "possible" the magazine rack would have removed hairs from the skin to cause that wound.

The photos show there is still hair.

And with that he takes an early tea break to consult with Prof Saayman, the state pathologist.

9:42 am
We're looking at a specific wound Reeva suffered now.

Dr Botha says it was caused by the magazine rack, based on photos.

Nel is going to challenge this by the look of it.

9:38 am
Nel brings up a close up of the bloodied toilet.

It's fairly gruesome.

9:30 am
This is a real performance from Gerrie Nel - nicknamed 'the bulldog'.

He's holding his chin and and looking down his glasses menacingly at Dr Botha.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Nel... wants early tea!!!!!!!!

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Tea Break... back 11:15

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

10:02 am
Pistorius has not coped well this morning.

And it may be him up next on the stand today.

9:58 am
Dr Botha had an absolutely torrid time in the box just then.

More of the same to come though.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

10:23 am
Apologies if you are not seeing video at the moment.

We're having a few technical issues.

Dr Botha is annoyed by Nel suggesting that his evidence is designed to fit to Pistorius' version of events.

"I'm not here to win the case for either the prosecution or the defence," he says.

"I beg to differ," replies Nel.

10:21 am
We're back underway.

Gerrie Nel is having a go at Dr Botha's opinion that the bruise on Reeva's back was caused by the magazine rack.

10:13 am
A sympathetic Uncle Arnold (Oscar's uncle) has gone to give Dr Botha some water.

Has he managed to regain his composure during the break?

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

Hip wound... entry wound

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

10:46 am
Dr Botha admits that she could've screamed if there was a few seconds between the shots.

He says if she was in fear he would've expected her to scream.

10:43 am
Nel now going after Dr Botha's assertion that Reeva wouldn't have screamed.

He says Prof Saayman says his evidence was that he would be surprised if Reeva HADN'T screamed.

Dr Botha says his evidence is that this assertion was based on the shots being fired in quick succession.

10:40 am
Nel is really tearing into Dr Botha's testimony about the sequence of the bullets.

He points out that he did not know that bullet 'B' definitely missed.

This was accepted by the defence during Captain Mangena's evidence.

Therefore how was he able to make conclusions on the order?

10:36 am
Dr Botha being asked about the sequence of gunshots again.

He repeats again that he is not certain about the order.

Nel says that when called by the defence he used the words "in all probability the sequence was..."

Now he is claiming he has no certainty.

10:31 am
Nel tries to gain of bit of credibility back on Prof Saayman's opinion about gastric emptying.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

10:52 am
Feels like Roux is stalling a bit here.

Perhaps trying to linger on this evidence so that Pistorius can have lunch break to prepare himself for stand?

10:49 am
Nel is finished with Dr Botha.

Roux gets back up and wants to clarify the evidence on Reeva's possible reaction.

He reiterates his argument that if Reeva was surprised she may not have screamed.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

11:04 am
We're finished with Dr Botha now.

What's going to happen now?

He's called Pistorius!

11:01 am
Roux finishes but Nel is back up.

It's more argument about the order of shots.

Roux admitted before he was wrong to say there was a 'double tap' - this is not the defence case.

Bit embarrassing.

Nel says he thought it was agreed between defence and state that it was a 'double tap'.

He now wants to reexamine Dr Botha on this point.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

11:07 am
Pistorius swears to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

He's in tears immediately.

He starts by tendering an apology.

"I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to Mr and Mrs Steenkamp, to Reeva's family. To those of you who knew her who are in court today."

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

11:09 am
Pistorius says he is taking medication.

He is taking an anti-depressant and a sleeping pill.

His voice is trembling.

11:08 am
"There hasn't been a moment I haven't thought about this tragedy.

"I was simply trying to protect Reeva. I can promise you when she went to bed that night she felt loved.

"I've tried to put my feelings in words to you several times. But no words have ever sufficed."

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

11:10 am
Pistorius says he has nightmares often.

He can't sleep and he often wakes up smelling blood.

He says he gets to the point where he would rather not sleep.

11:10 am
The Steenkamps had their heads down but now June, Reeva's mother, is staring stony-faced at Oscar.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light

11:23 am
Pistorius talking about growing up with his mother.

She had a lot of security concerns because his father was often away and they didn't live in a very nice suburb, he says.

She had a pistol which she kept at home.

11:22 am
Pistorius saying he took part in most sports at school but "wasn't very good at any of them".

"I enjoyed many sports outside of school, canoing and wrestling.

"My mother wanted me to get over my physical limitations by trying different sports."

11:20 am
Pistorius talking about when he was at primary school.

His prosthetics were heavy and difficult to use.

He says it was "difficult to adapt" as a child.

"Over time people's perceptions of me changed because they saw how I perceived myself."

11:18 am
Pistorius talking about how his mother supported him.

She didn't want him to be different to any of the other kids, he says.

If I fell, she told me to get up myself. She treated me the same as my brother and sister, he says.

11:17 am
Pistorius asked to talk about his legs.

"I wouldn't say I've got a difficulty with my legs. I've got prosthetics which allow me to cope with my disability.

"I was born with missing fibula - the bone between the knee and the ankle.

"On both legs. My parents consulted with medical professionals and the best option was for my legs to be amputated."

11:15 am
Pistorius giving a short biography of himself.

Goes through when he was born, his brothers and sister.

Says the siblings grew up "very close".

Talks about how his mother died when he was 15.

11:12 am
Pistorius says one night he woke up in a distressed state.

He ended up in a cupboard and called his sister to come round and comfort him.

_________________
Do not go gentle into that good night.
___________ Rage, rage against the dying of the light