Oscar Pistorius trial: Prosecutor Gerrie Nel queries tears

The prosecutor at the Oscar Pistorius murder trial has suggested the South African athlete is using his emotions “as an escape”.

He broke down in tears four times on Monday and had also vomited in court.

“Now you trying to be emotional and it’s not working,” said prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

Mr Pistorius admitted killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February last year, but said he fired his gun after mistaking her for an intruder.

Mr Nel said the Olympic sprinter, 27, had deliberately shot Ms Steenkamp, a model, after the couple had had an argument.

As the prosecutor resumed his cross-examination on Monday, he accused Mr Pistorius of “tailoring his evidence” as he went along to suit the defence case, which had been “concocted”.

The prosecutor, known as “bull terrier” for his fierce style of questioning, then asked: “You’re not using your emotional state as an escape are you?”

The BBC’s Pumza Fihlani in the South Africa capital Pretoria said Mr Nel spent much of the day trying to highlight apparent inconsistencies between Mr Pistorius’ bail application and his evidence in court.

On one occasion, when Mr Pistorius corrected Mr Nel, the prosecutor said this showed Mr Pistorius was a “stickler for detail” and yet on many aspects of the case, the athlete was being vague.

Earlier, Mr Nel again pressed Mr Pistorius on the moment he shot Ms Steenkamp.

The athlete, a double amputee, said he had not intended to kill anyone. “I fired out of fear,” he said.

This prompted Mr Nel to say Mr Pistorius was changing his story from self-defence to saying he shot by accident.

The prosecutor said this was because the truth was: “You fired at Reeva.”

“It’s not true,” Mr Pistorius replied, breaking into tears and prompting the court to briefly adjourn.

After the break, Mr Nel said that, as Mr Pistorius was trained to use firearms, the court could not accept he had fired by “mistake”.

He also said that the athlete had changed his aim to hit Ms Steenkamp after she had fallen down when she was hit by the first bullet. This was denied by Mr Pistorius.

The athlete says the couple had last eaten together about 19:00, some eight hours before she was shot.

Mr Pistorius says there was no row and they had a quiet evening together, before he woke up on hearing a noise in the bathroom.

Mr Nel said he would resume on Tuesday with a series of questions about the toilet.

Prosecution witnesses have testified to hearing a woman scream, but the defence disputes their testimony.

The Olympic sprinter faces life imprisonment if convicted of murdering the 29-year-old model and law graduate.

If he is acquitted of murder, the court must consider an alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could receive about 15 years in prison.

Mr Pistorius also faces charges of illegally firing a gun in public and of illegally possessing ammunition, both of which he denies.

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, and his fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.