Oscar Pistorius' "primal instincts" kicked in when he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp because he was in a vulnerable and fearful state, his defence lawyer said at the athlete's murder trial on Friday.
Double amputee Pistorius, 27, is accused of murdering Steenkamp.
The defence says Pistorius shot Steenkamp through a locked toilet door believing she was an intruder.
State prosecutor Gerrie Nel has spent the trial, which began in March, portraying Pistorius as a gun-obsessed hothead who deliberately shot Steenkamp, 29, four times through the door of the toilet.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux said during his closing arguments that psychological evidence had proven the track star had a heightened fight response and naturally faces danger because of his disability.
(Published 08 August 2014, 16:50 IST)
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