Pistorius said at his bail application he was woken up on February 14 by what he thought was an intruder in his house.
A phone belonging to murder-accused Oscar Pistorius was used for an internet connection at 1.48am on February 14 on the morning he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead, the high court in Pretoria heard on Monday. The connection lasted for 309 seconds – five minutes and 15 seconds, according to testimony by police cellphone analyst Captain Francois Moller.
But in his cross examination, his defence, Barry Roux SC, extracted a concession from Moller that a long internet connection on Reeva Steenkamp's phone, which started the night before she was killed, could have been automatic updates by her device, and could be said to be what happened with Pistorius's connection too.
A 41 029 second connection – 11.3 hours, according to Roux – which started at 8.14pm on February 13 2013 on Steenkamp's phone, could also have been because a social media site was still running. Moller told the court this could include use of social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, or WhatsApp. Moller said the data indicated there was a communication but the type of communication was not specified.
"It does not mean that there is human interaction," he said. Roux then asked if the same would apply to Pistorius's communication on the morning of February 14.
"It can be any one of a lot of things," Moller said.
First call
The court also heard SMS exchanges between the couple in which Steenkamp complained about his behaviour towards her at two public functions.
The court also heard that Pistorius made his first call of the morning shortly after 3am.
Pistorius's first voice call in the early morning of February 14 2013 was at 3.19am to a number ending in 2251, which was saved on Pistorius's phone as "Johan Silver Woods", said Moller. Johan Stander is the head of security at the Silver Woods estate.
Pistorius said at his bail application that he and Steenkamp went to bed around 10pm on February 13 and he was woken up on February 14 by what he thought was an intruder in his house. He shot through the toilet door and only afterwards realised Steenkamp was in there.
Neighbours have testified to hearing screams and what sounded like gunshots from the home around 3am on Valentine's Day.
At 3.20am Pistorius called 082 911, an emergency services number. The call lasted 66 seconds. This was followed by another internet connection, and then a call at 3.21am to a number ending in 6797 – security at the Silver Woods estate.
Then, at 3.21am Pistorius called 121, his voice mailbox number. A minute later, Silver Woods's security called Pistorius back. More internet connections followed, and then, at 3.55am, Pistorius called his friend Justin Divaris. At 4.01am he called his older brother Carl.
Pistorius has been charged with the premeditated murder of Steenkamp and contraventions of the Firearms Control Act. He allegedly fired a shot from a Glock pistol under a table at a Johannesburg restaurant in January 2013. On September 30 2012 he allegedly shot through the open sunroof of a car with his 9mm pistol while driving with friends in Modderfontein. – Sapa