'Impassive' Pistorius becomes 'emotional' at 'grisly details' of Steenkamp's death in trial

Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius had reportedly become emotional, burying his head in his hands and wiping away tears, as the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday heard grisly details of the killing of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

It is said to be the first sign of emotion from the track star in his two-day murder trial as he has been largely impassive during the trial for the murder of Steenkamp, also a law graduate, in his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day last year.

According to News24, Pistorius clasped his head between his hands as lead defence lawyer Barry Roux read out details from the post mortem, including that 'some fragments of the bullet' were removed from Steenkamp's head.

Roux also scorned the testimony of neighbour Michelle Burger, who said she heard a scream fade away after the shots, saying that Steenkamp would have 'dropped immediately' due to a bullet in the head.

The report mentioned that Pistorius, dressed a dark suit and tie, later appeared to wipe away tears.

Steenkamp was declared dead at the scene after being hit in the head, arm and hip from three bullets from a 9mm pistol, the report added.