Reeva Steenkamp did not scream or shout after Oscar Pistorius shot her, the athlete said at his murder trial on Friday.
Pistorius, a South African Paralympic and Olympic athlete, is standing trial in Pretoria. He is accused of the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, a charge he denies. He claims he believed Steenkamp to be an intruder when he shot her in the bathroom of his home on Febr. 14, 2013.
Pistorius, 27, admits killing Steenkamp but insists it was an accident. The prosecution claims he shot her after an argument.
Pistorius was cross-examined for a third day by prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who described it as "improbable" that Steenkamp would have remained silent in the bathroom while Pistorius was just three meters away calling for her to phone the police.
"At that stage when you shouted at Reeva to phone the police, she was three metres away from you in the toilet, but she didn't say anything," Nel said. "Why would she not say anything?"
Pistorius answered that he did not know. Nel accused him of lying and shooting Steenkamp while she was talking to him from the bathroom.
"She wasn't scared of an intruder," Nel said. "She was scared of you."
Nel then pressed Pistorius about his claim there were no screams, asking: "Are you sure that Reeva did not scream after the first shot?"
After a long pause, Pistorius began to cry before answering: "At no point did Reeva shout or scream."
Nel queried that argument, saying Pistorius would not have been able to hear if he had just fired his gun.
The trial was adjourned until Monday.