"Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius returned to court on Wednesday to hear explosive allegations that he fought "non-stop" with his slain girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on the night of her killing.
With the South African sporting hero already facing a tough fight to win bail, the prosecution presented police evidence to flesh out the charge he deliberately murdered the cover girl on Valentine's Day.
Police investigator Hilton Botha told the court that an unnamed witness "heard talking that sounded like non-stop fighting from two to three in the morning" shortly before Steenkamp was found dead at Pistorius's Pretoria home last Thursday.
Botha also said 29-year-old Steenkamp was shot three times through the bathroom door, with wounds to her head, elbow and hip. Botha said the shots were not fired straight at the toilet door, but rather "directly to the toilet, the basin itself."
"If you walk in directly and fire straight at the door you will miss the toilet," he said, suggesting Pistorius had been aiming.
Steenkamp, who had been going out with Pistorius since late last year, was declared dead shortly before 4:15 am on February 14 by medics and was found covered in towels and wearing white shorts and a black vest.
{{/usCountry}}Steenkamp, who had been going out with Pistorius since late last year, was declared dead shortly before 4:15 am on February 14 by medics and was found covered in towels and wearing white shorts and a black vest.
{{/usCountry}}Pistorius had told the court on Tuesday he shot the model and law graduate through a locked toilet door at his home, thinking she was an intruder. He said the couple had been asleep in bed.
The 26-year-old wept uncontrollably in court on Tuesday as defence lawyer Barry Roux read out an affidavit in which the athlete described shooting Steenkamp, 30, in a blind panic through the door, thinking she was an intruder.
In contrast, lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel painted a picture of a premeditated killing, a crime which carries a life sentence in South Africa.
"If I arm myself, walk a distance and murder a person, that is premeditated," he told the packed courtroom on Tuesday.
The hearing is expected to conclude by the end of the week.