Neighbour says Pistorius was 'torn apart', trying to 'desperately save' Reeva after shooting

A neighbour and friend of Oscar Pistorius has reportedly said in his testimony that the Paralympic sprinter was 'torn apart' and desperately trying to save Reeva Steenkamp minutes after fatally shooting her at his home last year.

Pistorius' defense was attempting to present a scenario of Pistorius' desperate panic at shooting his girlfriend in error through a toilet door after thinking she was a dangerous intruder, as he claims.

According to Fox News, Johan Stander and his daughter were at Pistorius' house soon after the shooting in the early hours of February 14 last year and Stander testified that he believed that the Olympian had made a mistake when he shot and killed Steenkamp because of the runner's emotional state when they found him.

Stander, who was the fourth witness called by the defense as the trial resumed after a two-week recess and moved into its seventh week, said that Pistorius was 'crying and was in pain', adding that the double-amputee Olympian was 'asking God to help him as he was torn apart, broken, desperate, pleading'.

Stander also said he and his daughter found Pistorius carrying Steenkamp down the stairs of his upscale villa when they went in, the report added.