
After a harrowing and exhausting six months of stop-start testimonies and cross-examinations, these are the key events during the biggest trial in post-Apartheid South African history.
1. Pistorius pleads not guilty
Oscar Pistorius pleads not guilty to all charges on the first day of the trial. He claims the death of Reeva Steenkamp was a mistake as he believed there was an intruder on the other side of the bathroom door.
2. The first witness tells of "blood-curdling screams"
Pistorius' former neighbour, Michelle Burger, told the court that she heard "a woman's terrible screams" coming from the athlete's home on the night in question. She said the screams became more intense and then she heard gun shots. The athlete's lawyer said that Burger "was not sure" what she heard and that her pre-trial statement contradicted what she was now saying in court.