Pistorius Tells of 'Moment Everything Changed'

It's day two of Oscar Pistorius on the witness stand, and if you're wondering, yes, he did once again reportedly vomit in court at the sight of photos of Reeva Steenkamp's body. Yesterday's session was adjourned early due to the athlete feeling "exhausted," but today doesn't seem to be shaping up to be much easier. In this morning's testimony, Pistorius walks the court through some troubling texts (they were sent on a "bad day," he says) and read out loud more mundane and loving ones, while crying. "I miss you more than anything," Steenkamp wrote on one occasion. "I replied with smiley faces and kisses," he says. One word getting a good deal of attention: "besotted." That's how Pistorius described his attraction to Steenkamp from the get-go; "I think I was maybe more into her than she was at times with me,” he said, per the New York Times.

• After the lengthy text-reading session, Pistorius started to walk the court through the events of Feb. 13 and 14. He says he put on his pajamas around 7pm, after having dinner with Steenkamp. She did yoga on the bedroom floor; he called a cousin and discussed cars. They both went to the bathroom, then went to bed. "Reeva was sitting up and I was lying with my head on her stomach."
• The two also exchange Valentine's Day gifts, but he didn't open his that night. He ultimately unwrapped his—four framed photos of the couple—on Steenkamp's birthday in August, reports the Telegraph.
• The fateful moment, as he tells it: "I heard the window opening in the bathroom. That is the moment that everything changed. I thought a burglar was gaining entry into my home. The first thing that ran through my mind was that I needed to protect Reeva and myself."
• He says as he moved toward the noise he screamed at the intruders and "shouted for Reeva to get on the floor. ... Just before I got to the bathroom heard a door slam. It could only have been the toilet door. It confirmed that there was a person or people inside the bathroom at that time."
• Court was then adjourned for lunch. The BBC expects him to be cross-examined this afternoon.
• One other notable moment from the morning: His lawyer had Pistorius remove his prosthetic legs. The Telegraph describes it as "a poignant demonstration of ... his vulnerability on his stumps to lodge in the judge's mind as she listened to his description of events."

(More Oscar Pistorius stories.)