Oscar Pistorius has been extremely emotional throughout his high profile murder trial. At one point the 27-year-old athlete vomited during expert testimony.

Now himself on the stand, Pistorius is trying to convey his version of what occurred on February 14th, 2013.

He claimed that after he discovered the body of 29-year-old Steenkamp, he “sat over [her] and cried”. Pistorius testified that he didn’t “know how long he was” there crying over his girlfriend. Shortly after saying this, he broke down on the stand.

At the request of defense attorney Barry Roux, proceedings were ended a half hour early.

Earlier, Pistorius had been asked to remove his prosthetic legs in front of the door through which bullets had been fired on the day of Steenkamp’s shooting. Pistorius had claimed that he was on his stumps and had carefully made his way through his house without the aid of prosthetics.

During another portion of his testimony, Pistorius said that he went back to the bedroom for his gun. He also stated that he requested Steenkamp, “get down and phone the police”. This was an important detail that was not featured in previous statements by Pistorius, one that suggested a strong deviation from such behavior in the past.

Oscar Pistorius removed his prosthetic legs in court Tuesday during his testimony at his murder trial http://t.co/jH68SuvOee

— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) April 8, 2014

Oscar Pistorius breaks during murder trial as he describes moments when he first realized he had shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

— Bayshore News (@NewsBayshore) April 8, 2014

Samantha Taylor, Oscar Pistorius' ex-girlfriend, tweeted this, but removed the tweet after 100's retweets pic.twitter.com/wIagjASu3U

— MJ Lourens (@mjlourens) April 8, 2014

In fact there were a few intricate details that appeared in Pistorius’s testimony that were not previously addressed by him. For instance, the delay in approaching the bathroom and having heard a door slam.

His testimony also suggested that it had been him shouting and screaming for help that morning. Neighbors claim that they heard a woman’s screams along with gunshots.

It is curious that Pistorius’s testimony now more closely echoes the narrative set by defense attorneys as to the events of that day than his own original story.

How is it that these various points were missing from the original statements and only addressed after a great deal of testimony for the prosecution? It is no doubt something that will be addressed in minute detail during careful cross-examination by the prosecution.

It would be surprising if the prosecutors did not point out the discrepancies and raise the possibility that Pistorius is now lying in a desperate attempt to avoid jail.

Image via YouTube