Reeva's father attends as closing arguments begin in Pistorius trial

Final arguments have begun in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius, the athlete who fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, through a toilet cubicle door in his South African home.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel said that a criminal trial was a “blunt instrument for digging up the truth” but that he was confident of his case.

The fathers of the double-amputee Olympic runner and Ms Steenkamp were in court for the first time in the trial, sitting at opposite ends of a long bench in the gallery.

The prosecution says Pistorius intentionally shot Ms Steenkamp before dawn on February 14, 2013, in anger after a quarrel.

The defence contends that he fired by mistake, thinking an intruder was in the toilet cubicle and that Ms Steenkamp was in the bedroom.