Oscar Pistorius breaks down on the stand, forces trial to adjourn for the day

Oscar Pistorius breaks down on the stand, forces trial to adjourn for the day

Disgraced former Olympian Oscar Pistorius broke down in tears and wailed uncontrollably on the witness stand today, forcing the judge to adjourn his murder trial for the day. The dramatic moment happened when he was recalling the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, at his South African home last year.

"I was afraid someone was going to start shooting," he testified about the moment he thought that he heard an intruder. "I heard a noise from inside the toilet. Before I knew it, I'd fired four shots at the door." Three of the four shots struck Steenkamp, killing her instantly. "That was the moment everything changed," he said. (Watch a video of the testimony below.)

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.