Prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court that Pistorius shot the 29-year-old model four times through the bathroom door of his home in a guarded and gated complex in the South African capital, Pretoria.

Magistrate Desmond Nair appeared concerned about Pistorius’ state of mind as he appeared shortly after 9:30am.  

‘Are you well?’ he asked Pistorius gently as he walked into the court, wearing a dark grey suit and black tie

‘Yes sir,’ Pistorius said in a barely audible voice, his head bowed. He clutched a white handkerchief.

Both sides gave graphic descriptions of the events of the evening.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel told the court that Ms Steenkamp went into the bathroom after the couple had been arguing.

‘The applicant armed himself, attached his prosthesis, walked seven metres to the bathroom and shot the deceased while she was in the toilet. He shot four times …  There’s no possible explanation to support his report that he thought it was a burglar,’ he said.

Mr Nel said the killing was premeditated because Pistorius had planned to say that he thought he was shooting an intruder

‘It was all part of the preplanning. Why would a burglar lock himself inside the bathroom?’ Mr Nel said.

He said the bathroom door had later been broken down from the outside, and questioned why someone would lock a bathroom door at 3 a.m.

‘She locked that door for a purpose. We’ll get to that purpose,’ Mr Nel said…. That is where she was when those shots were fired. She couldn’t go anywhere. It must have been horrific.’

The court was told that Miss Steenkamp had arrived at Pistorius’ home at around 6pm, with an overnight bag.

Mr Nel argued ‘It was pre-planned up until the time that he shot her. If he felt bad after that, that’s something different.’

But Pistorius’ defence lawyer Barry Roux said the shooting was accidental: ‘We submit it is not even murder. There is no concession this is a murder.’

He said there were a number of cases where men have shot members of their own family through doors after mistaking them for burglars.

He also suggested that Pistorius broke the bathroom door down to help Miss Steenkamp after the shooting.

The prosecutor also said the athlete, had not provided investigators with his own version of what happened.

Pistorius’ father, brother and sister sat on a bench behind him, with his brother occasionally kneeling to put a comforting hand on his brother’s back.

In arguing that Pistorius should be freed on bail, Mr Roux said there were no other charges outstanding against the sportsman who last year became the first double-amputee track athlete to run at the Olympics.

When a magistrate mentioned the possibility of life imprisonment if convicted Pistorius was seen silently mouthing some words in anguish and put a tissue to his eyes.

What Reeva Steenkamp’s family are saying and doing…

As the dramatic court hearing was held in the capital, Miss Steenkamp’s body was being driven to a church for a memorial service in the south coast city of Port Elizabeth.

Six pall bearers carried the coffin draped in white flowers and her father Barry arrived wearing dark sunglasses before going into Victoria Park Crematorium.

The family said members have gathered from around the world.

Her brother, Adam Steenkamp, said after the service: ‘Everyone is sad, understandably, but at certain points we were smiling whilst remembering Reeva, because we only have good memories of her.’

He added: ‘There’s a space missing inside all the people that she knew that cannot be filled again.

‘We’re going to keep all the positive things that we remember and know about my sister and we will try and continue with the things that she tried to make better. We’ll miss her.

They have demanded to know why their ‘beautiful angel’ was blasted to death with his 9mm gun and have begged the sprinter to ‘tell the truth’ about the shooting when he appears in court today.

Their desperate plea comes as police focus their investigations on the 29-year-old’s iPad amid concerns she received an early-hours message that may have sparked a row.

Miss Steenkamp’s tablet computer was found on the bedroom floor – and this is now being checked by investigators along with both her and Pistorius’ phone for any clues about her death.

June Steenkamp, Reeva’s mother said: ‘All we want are answers … answers as to why this had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this?’

Now this is what the media think happened

Miss Steenkamp final moments deepened after the tragedy was recreated in a controversial ‘cartoon’ strip in South Africa.

The bizarre images suggest the model was shot in the hip in Pistorius’ bedroom before being attacked and seeking refuge in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet seat.

The South African Times cited sources close to the police investigation as saying that social media messages including ones from Mr Hougaard might form part of the prosecution’s evidence at Mr Pistorius’ bail hearing at the Pretoria Central Magistrates tomorrow.