Key questions in Pistorius trial

Did the police irreparably taint the crime scene? Why did Pistorius not call the police? The questions, raised in various media reports, are itemised on the IoL site. Did the couple argue on the night of the shooting? In his affidavit, Pistorius claimed the couple spent a quiet night at home. They ate dinner then Pistorius watched television while Steenkamp did yoga, before both fell asleep. The prosecution is expected to challenge that account, calling on the testimony of neighbours who claim to have heard shouts and screams coming from the couple's house. The couple's mobile phone records could also offer evidence of a fight. Steenkamp is said to have had her phone with her in the toilet when she was shot. Did she contact friends? Did the police irreparably taint the crime scene? In the bail hearing, then lead detective Hilton Botha admitted he had entered Pistorius' home and investigated the scene without the correct protective footwear, lost track of ammunition at the scene and made several false assumptions. In a case where there is only one surviving witness - the accused - forensic and material evidence is expected to be key. The treatment of the crime scene may throw the reliability of that evidence into doubt. Why did Pistorius not call the police? In his affidavit, Pistorius says he called two numbers after realising he had shot Steenkamp: Johan Stander, who was involved in the administration of the gated community where he lived and private medical service Netcare. The prosecution is expected to probe his relationship with Stander and why Pistorius allegedly dismissed security guards who rang his house after hearing gun shots, telling them everything was fine. Full report on the IoL site Video of Day One of the trial

A Business Day report says Pistorius is expected to take the stand to explain what happened on the night of the shooting. It says the athlete's defence team, which kicked off with a scathing attack on the state's case, told the court that Pistorius would take the stand in his own defence. A report in Beeld notes Judge Thokozile Masipa is sitting with two assessors. Advocate Janette Henzen-Du Toit, who acted as a judge last year. She has an honours degree in psychology and a masters degree in criminal law. She is currently researching minimum sentence legislation for her doctorate. The other assessor is Advocate Themba Mazibuko. Full Business Day report (subscription needed) Full Beeld report POINTS FROM DAY ONE

The trial opened with Pistorius denying he argued with Steenkamp before she was shot dead. 'I deny this,' he said, according to a statement read out by his attorney Kenny Oldwage. He also argues that the crime scene was contaminated by police. Pistorius said he woke up when he heard a noise from the bathroom on 14 February. 'Reeva must have gone to a toilet, (and) closed the sliding doors...' 'I approached the bathroom to defend Reeva and I.' He thought it was an intruder. - News24

The state's case is based on circumstantial evidence, according to prosecutor Gerrie Nel. He told the court: 'There were only two people in the house, there were no eyewitnesses. The state's case is based on circumstantial evidence... and on what the neighbours heard...and lead ballistic and forensic evidence.' He said the state would prove that Pistorius killed Steenkamp with direct intent. - News24

'Escalating ... blood-curdling screams' were heard by state witness and neighbour Michelle Burger, an academic at the University of Pretoria, who lives within 200 metres of Pistorius' home. Burger said she was woken up at 3am by a woman's escalating screams, followed by those of a man also crying for help. 'She called for help. She screamed terribly and shouted for help. Then I heard a man also call for help. He called for help three times. ' Burger, who testified mostly in Afrikaans, said she believed she was listening to a robbery in progress. Her husband called security guards and asked them to investigate. 'Then I heard her screams again,' Burger said, under questioning from Nel. 'It was like a climax. I heard her anxiety. She was very scared. It was very traumatic for me. You could hear that it was blood-curdling screams.' - Mail & Guardian Online

'I cannot understand how I heard screams and (Pistorius) didn't,' Burger told the court. 'When I heard that Pistorius shot his girlfriend, I was shocked because I couldn't understand how I could hear the screams and he couldn't. You don't scream like that unless you believe that your life is in danger. I believed that it was a house break-in.' But other witness statements read to Burger say that they heard the sound of a man crying loudly. Barry Roux SC, for Pistorius, also pointed out that the sound of a cricket bat bashing down the toilet door might be heard as gunshots from her house, though she replied to say that she has experienced the sound of gunfire, and her house was perhaps too far from Pistorius' to carry the sound of a bat hitting a door, but not too far to carry the sound of gunfire. - News24

Pistorius screams like a woman when he is anxious, Roux claimed. 'You know... if Pistorius is very anxious, if he screams it sounds like a woman's voice,' he is quoted as saying in a Cape Times report. It says the court giggled slightly at Roux's submission, which came during a lengthy period of cross-examining Burger. Roux said witnesses could testify to this trait of Pistorius. 'He was screaming higher and lower and that is why you would hear what you, at that time of the morning, would associate with a man screaming and a woman screaming,' said Roux. He said one thing the court had heard from Burger's testimony was that all the screams she heard were not at the same time. - Cape Times (subscription needed)

The interpreting from Afrikaans to English was questioned after Pistorius' counsel had heard Burger testify that the night after the shooting she was 'deurmekaar' - which the interpreter translated as confused. As Roux rounded in on the word 'confused', as part of a line of questioning on how many shots had been fired the night of the killing, the judge interrupted. 'Is there a difficulty between you and the interpreter,' asked Judge Thokozile Masipa. Burger hesitated then said: 'She is interpreting what I am saying. Some of the words are not what I am saying and then I am correcting in English.' - News24

Police and court orderlies escorted a woman known as Annemarie out of the court after she apparently sought to bring an application to have Pistorius committed. The woman has on previous occasions tried to bring a similar application without success. - News24 Day One highlights in City press