Oscar Pistorius told a security guard "everything is fine" shortly after shots were heard from his home the night girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was killed, a court has heard.
Pieter Baba, who works as a security guard at the Silverwoods Country Estate in Pretoria, testified that when he phoned the athlete to investigate the shots, Pistorius told him "security, everything is fine".
But Baba noticed the Paralympian was crying.
"Not everything was in order as Mr Pistorius was telling me," he said.
"I then tried to speak to Mr Pistorius so that he can calm down."
The security guard said the phone connection was lost, then he received another incoherent call from the sprinter.
"He just started crying over the phone," said Baba, adding: "That's when the line went off again, my lady."
Pistorius, 27, has denied intentionally killing Steenkamp and has pleaded not guilty to three other charges, including one of firing a gun through a moving car's sunroof and to illegal possession of ammunition.
Baba, wearing a collared red shirt and speaking through a translator, recounted that he entered Pistorius's house to see the runner carrying mortally injured Steenkamp down the stairs.
Defence lawyer Barry Roux questioned Baba if he heard the athlete correctly. "Did Mr Pistorius say 'everything is ok' or 'is he ok'?" asked Roux.
"Mr Pistorius said security everything is fine," insisted Baba.
Roux indicated that Pistorius would take the stand to give his account of events.
Earlier, the court heard emotional evidence from an ex-girlfriend of Pistorius, who testified that the Paralympian often carried a gun with him and once fired at a traffic light after a confrontation with police.
Samantha Taylor, who met Pistorius in 2010 when she was 17 years old, tearfully described the sprinter as someone familiar with guns, prone to fits of anger and an unfaithful boyfriend.
Frequently breaking down in tears, Taylor recounted the history of the pair's troubled relationship, which she said ended in 2012 because "he cheated on me with Reeva Steenkamp".
Judge Thokozile Masipa adjourned court twice when Taylor broke down crying during her testimony.
Pistorius watched Taylor as she was consoled by her sister, clenching his jaw so hard the tendons in his cheek bulged.
