Billed as the "trial of the century" before it began, Oscar Pistorius' murder trial  reached a critical point this week, with the athlete taking the stand to give evidence in his defence. Here are the five most dramatic moments of the trial so far.

1. Gasps echoed through the courtroom as prosecutor Gerrie Nel had a graphic image of Reeva Steenkamp’s blood-matted head displayed on the screens in the court room, taunting Pistorius to look at the image and take responsibility for his actions.

2. On Monday, Pistorius changed into athletic wear, sat in the court and removed his prosthetic legs. He then moved to stand beside the wooden bathroom door through which he had shot and killed Ms Steenkamp, in a bid to show he was on his stumps when he fired the fatal bullets.

3. On Tuesday, the Olympian broke down, howled and sobbed in the witness box as he after describing the moment he realised he had shot dead his girlfriend: “I sat over Reeva and I cried. I don’t know, I don’t know how long, I don’t know how long I was there for,” he said, his sobs intensifying. “She wasn’t breathing.”

4. As his evidence-in-chief concluded, Pistorius’ counsel Barry Roux asked his client if he ever intended to kill Ms Steenkamp. The athlete’s response came in a clear monotone: "I did not intend to kill Reeva, my lady, nor anyone else,” he said.

5. Earlier in the trial, the athlete repeatedly vomited, retched and sobbed through the evidence of as a forensic pathologist, who revealed the bullets he used to shoot his girlfriend were designed to cause “maximum damage” to human tissue.