Pistorius trial hears of ‘bloodcurdling screams’

The first witness at Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial told the court that she heard “bloodcurdling screams” from a woman followed by shots, a dramatic opening to a case that could see one of global sport’s most admired role models jailed for life.

Taking the stand after the Paralympic and Olympic star pleaded not guilty to murdering his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine’s Day last year, neighbour Michelle Burger testified she was woken in the middle of the night by a woman shouting for help.

“I was still sitting in the bed and I heard her screams,” Burger, who lives 177m (194 yards) from Pistorius’s home in an adjacent housing complex, told the Pretoria High Court.