The murder trial of South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has heard he used his tablet computer to look at pornography the night before he killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

On day 13 of the trial, the prosecution asked computer expert Mike Sales to tell the court what websites had been accessed on an iPad owned by Pistorius.

Mr Sales revealed Pistorius had been looking at pornography and luxury cars online the night before Steenkamp died.

The prosecution wanted to demonstrate the relationship between the victim and the accused was not a happy one.

The "Blade Runner" denies the premeditated murder of Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year, saying he shot her in a tragic accident after mistaking her for an intruder.

The court also heard from police ballistics expert Chris Mangena, who told the trial Steenkamp died in a protective position with a hand over her head.

Mr Mangena said Steenkamp was first hit in the hip and was in a defensive position in the toilet stall of Pistorius's flat when the last shot hit her head.

"The best probable explanation is the deceased was initially upright behind the closed door, she sustained a penetrating wound in the right side of the hip," Mr Mangena said.

The 29-year-old model and law graduate then fell onto a magazine rack where another bullet hit her right elbow, he said.

Mr Mangena told the court the last bullet hit Steenkamp's head, clipping her raised left hand.

"The deceased was seated in a defensive position," he said.

"The arm was lifted up, and was in front of her chest."

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel, mimicking the position with his own arms, asked: "You've both hands forward, with the left and right hand crossing the head?"

"That is correct," his witness answered.

The sequence of shots speaks to whether Steenkamp could have screamed during the shooting.

Witnesses have testified to hearing a woman's terrified screams, but the defence say she was hit first in the head and therefore could not have screamed.

Mr Mangena also testified that Pistorius could have been as close as 60 centimetres to the toilet door, or as far away as 220 centimetres, when he fired.

The distance from the door could shed light on whether Pistorius fired on the cubicle in a panic or approached it in a calculated plan to hit his target.

The ballistics report will be key in the state's case of premeditated murder against Pistorius.

The athlete said he was convinced he was shooting at an intruder when he fired four bullets through a locked toilet door, three of which hit Steenkamp.

Pistorius, 27, sat with his head in his hands, while Steenkamp's mother and relatives in the public gallery lowered their heads when graphic images of the blood-splattered bathroom were shown.

The first photographs of Pistorius after the shooting were displayed in court last week, showing the heavily muscled athlete bare-chested and staring vacantly at the camera, with blood spattered on his rumpled shorts and left arm.

Court adjourns Pistorius trial until Monday



The court adjourned the trial until Monday after prosecutors asked for extra time to consult with their final witnesses before closing their case against the Paralympian.

"It's a reasonable request that I cannot refuse. We shall postpone this matter until Monday," Judge Thokozile Masipa said.

The state aims to close its case against the athlete early next week.

But Mr Nel argued it would be "irresponsible" to call the last four or five witnesses without consulting them again first.

Pistorius had his lower legs amputated as a baby, but he overcame the disability to become the "fastest man on no legs", running on carbon-fibre "blades" to win gold medals at the Beijing and London Paralympics.

He also reached the 400 metres semi-finals at the London Olympics, competing against able-bodied athletes.

He was not wearing his artificial legs at the time of the shooting and said this made him feel vulnerable and panicky, part of the reasoning behind his plea of not guilty to the murder of Steenkamp.

ABC/AFP