Oscar Pistorius has started giving evidence in his murder trial in South Africa.
He apologised to the family of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who he killed, saying he wanted to protect her.
The defence opened its case earlier today, calling a pathologist in an effort to cast doubt on the prosecution's assertion that Ms Steenkamp ate no more than two hours before the double-amputee runner killed her.
The evidence from Professor Jan Botha is critical to the defence because Pistorius has claimed the couple were in his bedroom by 10pm on February 13 2013, and any indication that they were awake much later could undermine the Olympian's account of the sequence of events.
Pistorius fatally shot Ms Steenkamp after 3am the next morning, saying he mistook her for an intruder in his home. The prosecution has argued that he intentionally killed her after an argument.
