Apple smart watch efforts confirmed by US patent

Fresh evidence that Apple has been working on a smart watch concept since at least 2011 has emerged in a patent filing.

The document describes a flexible touchscreen display which would communicate with a smartphone or other electronic device.

It coincides with a report from a tech consultancy suggesting there is huge pent up demand for such a gadget.

But ABI Research warns that battery life issues still need to be addressed.

It says assuming such problems can be resolved, about 485 million wearable computing devices might ship by 2018, providing a significant growth opportunity for Apple and the wider consumer electronics industry.

Not all published patents lead to actual products, but Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have all published reports this month saying sources had confirmed Apple was experimenting with a watch-like device.

The iPhone-maker declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.

Slap wraps

The US Patent Office only revealed Apple's filing on Thursday, but the document dates back to August 2011.

The mooted device is likened to a "slap wrap" - a thin strip of metal covered in fabric which snapped around the user's wrist to form a bracelet.

The toy was popular with teenagers in the late-1980s, but fell out of favour after complaints that it lost its ability to retain its shape over time,. There were also complaints that some users had experienced injuries after the fabric wore away to reveal a sharp metal edge.Apple puts a hi-tech spin on the idea proposing a "slap bracelet" featuring a flexible circuit board and display, a touch sensitive user interface and a two-way communication chip, which would curl around the user's skin.

It suggests the gadget could detect which part of its surface was covered so that its readout would be limited to the exposed screen, with information flowing over the join.

Apple suggests lights along the device's edge could be programmed to blink when the user receives an alert, before displaying the details on its screen.

It says the user could then provide a brief response or use the bracelet to command a wirelessly connected smartphone, tablet or laptop to carry out another function such as adjusting the order of a song playlist or reviewing what recent calls had been made.

Apple acknowledges that the relatively thin nature of a wrist band would limit its uses, but suggests a wider armband could also be developed.

"At the width of a few inches the display can function to temporarily view and manipulate the screen of the portable device it is in communication with," says the paper.

"This might be desirable when the portable electronic device is stored in an inconvenient location such as a cargo pocket, or the bottom of a backpack."A larger display is also more desirable for map viewing... as a traveller or explorer can easily reference the information with a flick of the wrist while exploring."

Recharge worries

ABI Research notes that several companies already sell smart watches - such as Fossil, Pebble and Sony - while others (including Samsung and Martian) are known to be working on such products,

For the time being, however, it says the sector is dominated instead by activity trackers - such as Nike's Fuelband and the Garmin Forerunner - which account for an estimated 61% of the wearable tech market.

Some of these devices do tell the time, but they only offer limited functionality beyond monitoring exercise or the owner's sleep pattern.

The consultants instead suggest a much wider range of uses giving the example of linking the watch to a home automation system so that "a quick shake of your wrist can turn off/on room lights".

The idea of a smartwatch has been around for years - but the firm says technology only recently caught up with our imagination.

"Moore's law has driven silicon to the point where it's small enough and powerful enough to drive applications that mean things to consumers," ABI's chief research officer, Stuart Carlaw, told the BBC."Bluetooth Smart has also brought us high-bandwidth, low-energy connectivity at a less than a dollar a chip and takes up little space while offering robust performance.

"But one note of caution is that when we look at wearable technologies the use of power becomes an issue. You don't want to have to be plugging in four or five products a night to recharge - energy harvesting or wireless recharging technologies are going to become incredibly important."

Apple's patent confirms the company is aware of the problem.

It suggests harvesting energy from the movement of the user's arms and only coming out of standby mode when a sensor detects the device has been rotated to face a certain way.

It adds that the use of an AMOLED (active matrix light emitting diode) display would also help since it can allow individual pixels to be turned off, allowing the watch to only activate the parts which are facing the owner's eyes.

Oscar Pistorius granted bail in Reeva Steenkamp case

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, who faces murder charges over the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, has been granted bail after a four-day hearing.

Magistrate Desmond Nair said the state had not made a case that he would flee, or that he had a violent character.

The Paralympic champion denies murder, saying he shot Reeva Steenkamp thinking she was an intruder at his home.

The next hearing in the case has been set for 4 June. Bail was set at 1m rand (£74,000; $113,000).

He was ordered to hand over his passport, avoid his home in Pretoria and report to a police station between 07:00 and 13:00 every Monday and Friday.

Mr Nair took almost two hours to deliver his judgement.He criticised the testimony of Detective Hilton Botha for not following up important leads and changing his evidence.

But the magistrate also said he had difficulty understanding why Mr Pistorius had opened fire in the way he did.

However, he said Mr Pistorius had "reached out to meet the state's case" and had given a full version of events at an early stage.

"I come to the conclusion that the accused has made a case to be released on bail," he said.

Mr Pistorius's family and supporters in the court gasped and cheered as the magistrate announced his decision.

His uncle, Arnold Pistorius, said outside court: "We are relieved by the fact that Oscar got bail today, but at the same time, we are in mourning for Reeva Steenkamp and her family."

Conflicting accounts

The hearing began on Tuesday and both prosecution and defence laid out their cases.

Both sides agree that Mr Pistorius shot through the bathroom door four times, hitting and killing Ms Steenkamp.

But prosecutors allege the shooting happened after the couple had an argument at Mr Pistorius's home in the early hours of 14 February.Det Botha told the court that witnesses had heard shouting, screaming and gunfire from about 600m (2,000ft) away.

But later he changed his evidence to suggest the witnesses were much closer.

And on Thursday it emerged that Det Botha faces allegations of attempted murder, and he was removed from the case.

Mr Pistorius says he woke in the middle of the night, and thought there was an intruder in the bathroom.

The prosecutors sought to portray Mr Pistorius as man with a history of violence who was likely to flee the country.

But the defence argued it would be impossible for Mr Pistorius to flee because his prosthetic legs would be noticed wherever he went.

Ms Steenkamp, 29, was a model and law graduate with a burgeoning television career.

Oscar Pistorius, 26, won gold medals at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

In London he made history by becoming the first double-amputee to run in the Olympics, making the semi-final of the 400m.

Should sperm donors have parental duties?

As more women become pregnant using sperm donated by men they know, the law must establish what role, if any, these men should play in their biological children's lives.

When William Marotta answered a Craigslist ad seeking a sperm donor, he was just trying to help two women start a family.

Over a few days in 2009, he gave the couple several donations in plastic cups and signed an agreement giving up all his parental rights. He thought would never see them again.

But in October he got an alarming letter: though the women did not want him to be part of the child's life, the state of Kansas was suing him for child support.

Mr Marotta, 45, discovered that the women raising his biological daughter had separated and the child's mother, facing financial difficulties, had enrolled the girl in Medicaid, a government healthcare programme for the poor.

The state asked her for the name of the girl's father, who officials said was financially responsible for the medical expenses incurred.

'Clearly outdated'Experts say they are seeing an increase in legal disputes over the relationships sperm donors have with recipient families in cases where the donor's identity is known.

In some cases, like Mr Marotta's, donors do not want to be recognised as legal parents. But lawyers are also seeing more cases in which donors seek contact with their biological children.

In the UK, the High Court recently handed down a landmark ruling giving two gay men in a civil partnership the right to apply for contact with their three biological children, who are being raised by lesbian couples with whom the men are friendly.

The men could even win the right to play a role in rearing the children.

In the US, analysts like Charles Kindregan, professor of family law at Suffolk University in Boston, say Mr Marotta's case demonstrates why the law is so "clearly outdated".

The law protecting sperm donors from parental liability was passed in the 1970s, when most women seeking fertility treatment were married. Because treatment was new and cumbersome it had to be administered by a doctor.

But medical advances now offer cheaper, easier alternatives to treatment in a clinic.

Single mothers now make up as many as 49% of the women who receive donor conception treatment, says Wendy Kramer, director of the Donor Sibling Registry.

Zero legal protectionLesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families account for another third of recipients, with heterosexual couples making up the balance, she says.

"That's a huge difference from when I became pregnant 22 years ago," she says. "At that time most of the women were like me - married, infertile couples."

Ms Kramer emphasises that because donor recipients have not been required to report live births back to sperm banks, healthcare practitioners, regulators and legislators have been unable accurately to track the changing landscape.

She adds that there is "zero" tracking for sperm donors who do not go through clinics.

And in these casual arrangements, there is also zero legal protection for the biological mother and father.

Nearly all the current litigation involving sperm donors stems from complications arising out of private donations.

Under the Uniform Parentage Act of 1973, the law on the books in most US states, a physician's involvement ensures the donor has no parental liability.

In Mr Marotta's case, this rule made all the difference. Because the women used a home insemination kit instead of a doctor, he could be on the hook for about $6,000 in child support, his lawyer Ben Swinnen says.

But Prof Kindregan sees "no rational connection" between the use of a doctor in the procedure and the assignment of legal responsibility for the child.

A physician "may hopefully ensure the procedure is done correctly, but is irrelevant as to the potential parentage - or support - liability of either the sperm donor or the husband, if the woman is married," he says.

Other analysts say the requirement's original purpose was to protect children: Doctors can test the donation for sexually transmitted infection before clearing it for insemination"The philosophy of the legislators is [doctors] will do the mandatory testing against diseases such as HIV and hepatitis," says Steven Snyder, chairman of the American Bar Association's assisted reproductive technology group.

"Using a licensed physician also creates a 'proof platform'" protecting the state from couples claiming the father is in fact a donor in order to claim public benefits, he says.

But analysts agree the law needs to catch up with changing times and to enable courts to rule according to the wishes of the parties.

"As to intention, this is increasingly important in family law matters as the concept of family evolves into new forms," Prof Kindregan says.

New model parentage laws, including one written by the American Bar Association, propose dropping the physician requirement.

Mr Snyder says courts would be allowed to undertake fact finding to resolve disputes on a case-by-case basis.

Updated parentage bills are being considered in at least eight states, he says.

Mr Marotta's lawyer says that although his client did not know - and did not ask - whether the women would use a doctor, he did sign a contract giving up parental rights to a child born of his donation.

"Unlike what the state says, donor agreements are not void as a matter of law and should be enforced," Mr Swinnen argues.

An evidentiary hearing in Mr Marotta's case is scheduled for 10 April, and oral arguments will be heard on 18 June.

PlayStation 4: Expert views on Sony's games console reveal

Sony has been coy about the details, but it's all but certain the firm is about to unveil its next-generation console - the PlayStation 4.

The machine is expected to offer better graphics, a new controller and should fit in with the firm's wider efforts to promote 4K - or "ultra-high definition" - television technology.

Gamers will also be hungry for any news of launch titles.

These can prove critical to a console's early fortunes as Nintendo has discovered. The company recently reported sales of its rival Wii U were "losing momentum" a mere two months after launch acknowledging it needed to "enrich the software line-up".

Based on console sales Nintendo was the clear winner in the last round of the video game wars.

By the end of 2012, 100.2 million Wiis had been sold compared to 79.2 million Xbox 360s and 75.2 million PlayStation 3s, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

But in many "hardcore" gamers minds the key battle is between Sony and Microsoft.

At launch the PS3 appeared to trump the Xbox 360 thanks to having a more powerful CPU (central processing unit).As things turned out it ultimately proved hard to pick one machine over the other when it came to cross-platform titles. Even so, expect thousands of web pages to be dedicated to comparing the PS4 and next-generation Xbox's specs before they go on sale.

Cost will also be scrutinised - the PS3's $500/$600 (£325/£390) initial price tag was blamed for limiting its appeal. It is traditional to sell new console gaming hardware at a loss to begin with - the question is how low Sony is willing to go to secure market share.

One reason it may wish to be aggressive is that the PS4 is much more than a gaming system. It also represents a chance to become a gateway to other kinds of internet-based entertainment.

Microsoft has been more successful at securing video-on-demand deals - and linked subscription fees, but this battle is still in its early stages.

Ahead of the launch the BBC asked a range of experts for their views of the challenges and opportunities facing Sony and the wider console sector .

Fasol Gerhard, Eurotechnology Japan

Sony is often taken as a poster child for Japan's stagnation.

Over the last 15 years, the firm has shown essentially no revenue growth and its profits have been wiped out by its losses.

One must be careful not to overstate gaming's ability to turn that around. Its Computer Entertainment division accounts for 11% of Sony's sales, while 56% of the firm's profits - disregarding the parts that make losses - come from selling life insurance, consumer loans and financial products in Japan.

But the new consoles could drive additional earnings by helping sell the firm's movies, music and other media.

But there are challenges facing the launch.

In Japan, the smartphone-based social games market is huge with users spending a small fortune on virtual items and other premium content. In anticipation of their global success, the country's two biggest social gaming firms - Gree and DeNA - now have a combined market cap value that is half that of Sony' whole business.Across the world Sony is also facing disruption from free and $0.99 "snack-type" games. To win in this sector Sony would have to beat Rovio's Angry Birds brand, Halfbrick's Fruit Ninja and others.

If I was chief executive of Sony, I would also worry about the fact there are currently 800 games on PlayStation, while there are about 130,000 games on Apple's iOS platform.

The prospect of the US firm taking this enormous developer support to a next generation Apple TV ecosystem would give me sleepless nights.

Personally, I like Sony's acquisition of the cloud game platform Gaikai - a gaming service which offloads the processing work to remote servers which monitor controller commands and stream graphics to users via the internet.

The Wall Street Journal has suggested it might be used to provide access to last-generation PlayStation 3 games, and other uses are possible.

Ultimately Gaikai might become Sony's most important game platform.

David Braben, Frontier Developments

We see the arrival of new consoles like the new PlayStation as a great opportunity - the console is a key showcase for game technology.

At Frontier we have our own game engine and tools used for all of our games, and we pride ourselves at getting the most out of each machine.

When a film company sets out to make a feature film, they imagine the viewer watching in glorious surround sound in a cinema. Clearly the people creating it want it to be watched in the best possible setting that shows off all their creative work, and the same applies to a game.

Graphics and audio are moving ever closer to Hollywood-quality visual effects, and we will take full advantage of those capabilities, but it also goes beyond that.

As network connectivity gets ever better, control and input capabilities get ever more sophisticated, then so do the opportunities for our games like to shine and transform the players' experience and immersion. For example, our 2014 game Elite: Dangerous is an unashamedly high-end PC and Mac game, but I have every expectation it will come to new consoles, too.People have regularly talked about consoles being "killed" by mobile devices. In practice, these are all just different venues for our games, and with careful thought can be integrated into the same game.

It is great to see the next generation of consoles being announced, as mobile devices have become ever closer in performance to the six or so year old current console designs and the new wave of machines will once again push consoles out in front.

Keza MacDonald, IGN.com

The PlayStation 4 will be launching into a very different world than Sony's previous consoles.

When the PlayStation 3 came out in 2006 - early 2007 in the UK - the iPhone and iPad did not exist, smartphones were nascent, and only a very few people owned HD televisions.

The PlayStation 4, meanwhile, is competing with many other expensive gadgets for consumer cash, most of which are also capable of playing games.

What Sony has to show is that the games you'll be able to play on the PS4 are in a totally different class to what's already available.

The actual hardware is less and less relevant for a video games console now - if all people wanted was better graphics, they would all buy high-end PCs.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 have both been key players in the "battle for the living room" that has raged over the past five years, but with Apple, PC-specialists Valve and smart TV manufacturers stepping onto this battleground, things are getting crowded.In order to remain relevant, the new generation of games consoles will have to offer more than just a box that plays discs: they will have to offer viable platforms for digital distribution of games and entertainment, and of course huge libraries of content.

What it really comes down to is the games themselves.

In order to build confidence in the PS4, Sony will need to announce at least three strong, exclusive games titles, ideally both entirely new games or new entries in the company's existing well-loved franchises like Uncharted and Gran Turismo.

This is what will really matter to gamers.

Prof Ian Bogost, Georgia Institute of TechnologyThanks to the enormous cost of developing blockbusters, AAA [big budget] games often settle on proven approaches.

The PS3 deepened Sony's commitment to visual realism, and new versions of popular game engines like Unreal extended that commitment.

This is a conservatism of technology as much as design. Given particular hardware and software tools, it's easier, cheaper, and less risky to make the games those consoles and engines were designed to run.

The PS4 has opportunity and reason to offer something different.

Until now, high-end consoles have focused on the physical world via 3D-graphics and physics.

Given a realistic world like those of Uncharted or Far Cry, what else can be done within them besides more variations on action or science fiction exploration and combat?

Consider all the things other than visuals, movement, and collision detection that might deepen the experience of games.

There's a lot visually realistic worlds leave out.To name a few: the biology of organic life-forms; the mental motivations of individuals; their group social, cultural, and economic dynamics; their political behaviours under different kinds of regimes; the logics of narrative progression and plot.

These are difficult but not intractable computational problems.

Research on procedural methods for narrative, behaviour, and motivation exist, they just haven't had the time and investment to develop into stable commercial systems.

Normally such work would be done in software anyway. But over time, proven software methods sometimes find their way back into hardware.

Sometimes it's better that way, because those methods become encapsulated and treated as givens.

The new, even more powerful multicore AMD64 architecture rumoured to run the PS4 might seem to allow game creators to do anything they want, but sometimes being able to do anything amounts to less freedom than being given specific tools.

Instead, the PS4 seems poised to offer a touchpad on the controller, in a foolish bid to compete with touch-controlled platforms like phones and tablets, rather than to offer new computational capacities that can't be found anywhere else.

Brian Fargo, InXile EntertainmentSony 

recognised early on the power of connecting their users to each other to make the gaming experience more meaningful.

Nothing beats the personal nature of joining your friends in a game either co-operatively or competitively. And this functionality does not come without a lot of effort and planning.

There are a number of systems and tools that need to be created in order to trigger people to jump in with their friends.

The basics start with the simplistic leader boards to stoke the vanity and competitive aspects of gaming. From there you need to make it simple to find your friends and be alerted when they come online.

Throw in the ability to chat online and you suddenly have your community of real life friends around you at all times.

I would expect Sony to greatly expand upon these systems to bring social connectivity to another level. A greater ability to jump in and out of multiplayer games would turn up the social aspects.Having alerts or information come to you while away from your gaming console would keep the players involved even while they are not playing. Players will want to access information on their favourite games and friends from any device they are operating.

In addition, we have also seen the power of the crowd as is relates to content creation and this is another area that could be area to be exploited.

It used to be that the console wars were won by who had the most powerful hardware but now it comes down to all of the systems that support a connected and greater experience.

Lewis Ward, IDCIt's clear that the device formerly known as the game console is quickly converging with a range of multimedia-capable devices that can be used in the living room.

Many smart TV's can now access over-the-top services, including casual games. The set-top boxes from cable and fibre companies are becoming web access points to an extent.

And then there are emerging gaming-centric technology providers like Valve's so-called Steam Box and the Android-based Ouya and GameStick consoles that have their sights set on the family room, in addition to tablet-makers like Apple and Samsung.

A successful gaming platform has four elements in my mind:

Quality hardware

A large catalogue of fun and innovative games

A surrounding ecosystem of software and value-added features that support community interactions

A unique business model and price point niche

If any of these elements are missing it's going to be difficult to make headway against the PS4 or the ecosystems that Nintendo and Microsoft have established.Going back through the emerging alternatives to the likes of the PS4, smart TV's come up the shortest on the game catalogue today. Their main challenge will be to get enough games to get people to switch their spending patterns away from game/entertainment consoles.

Cable and fibre company set-top boxes are currently short on games as well as social networking capabilities.

Right now, there are too many unknowns about Ouya and GameStick to make a call about their competitiveness. I'm sure they'll be low-priced from both a hardware and a game perspective relative to the PS4, but what's the catalogue look like and what about their social features?

The most intriguing near-term alternative to my mind is the Steam Box.

Valve already has an amazingly loyal hardware customer base - a base that's proven willing to open up their wallets - so I wouldn't put it past them to launch a successful connected gaming-centric platform in the living room.

More than any of the other current threats to the hegemony of the console manufacturers, at least in North America and the UK, I think Valve has the potential to peel off a significant market share in the next 3 years.Keza MacDonald, IGN.com

2 missing, more than dozen injured in Kansas City gas explosion

Two people are missing and at least 14 people were injured when a gas line in Kansas City, Missouri, exploded and ignited a four-alarm fire, officials said Tuesday night.

The explosion apparently leveled JJ's restaurant, a popular spot in Country Club Plaza, an upscale shopping district and residential neighborhood that is a regional gathering place.

James Garrett, a spokesman for the Kansas City Fire Department, said three people were unaccounted for Tuesday night.

Missouri Gas Energy said: "Early indications are that a contractor doing underground work struck a natural gas line, but the investiMayor Sly James said the walls of the restaurant had collapsed.

Dr. Leonardo Lozada, the chief physician at St Luke's Health Systems, said he heard the explosion at the hospital, which is a block and a half from the restaurant.

"Yes, it was pretty loud. I just heard it; it wasn't that traumatic," he said, adding that some people told him they saw the roof blow off.

Officials at three hospitals indicated at least 14 people were hospitalized, including three in critical condition and three in serious condition.

The number of injured had dropped from previous reports because there was "a lot of confusion with people coming into the emergency room." Lozada told CNN.

Two patients are in critical condition at St. Luke's Hospital, said Dr. Marc Larsen. One of the patients suffered extensive burns; the other facial trauma, he said. Most of the five other patients suffered minor lacerations or inhalation injuries, he said.

Lozardo said one man had burns to "40% percent of his body, mostly to his lower extremities."

Garrett said here were no fatalities at the scene, but two of those hurt had life-threatening injuries.

About 100 fire fighters fought the fire before it was put out, fire chief Paul Berardi said.

When the first fire trucks arrived the restaurant was fully involved with a few people inside, he said.

Witness says man told her to leave restaurant

One witness told CNN affiliate KSHB a man who had a hand-held device came into the restaurant before the blast and told her and 10 others in JJ's to leave.

Jennifer Carter told the station that restaurant workers already had turned off the appliances because people inside had smelled gas.

She said she left when told and was a few blocks away when she heard the explosion.

Garrett confirmed that workers from Missouri Gas Energy were "on the scene" before the explosion.

Residents who live near JJ's said they reported smelling gas to the utility company about an hour before the explosion, according to CNN affiliate KCTV.

The explosion shook doors and windows at nearby businesses and homes, the station reported.

James, who came to the scene from his office, said his primary focus was the victims.

"That's the main concern, making sure they come out OK," he said.

Garrett said gas lines have been shut off.

"People are still not allowed back into the plaza," he said. "I don't know when it will reopen -- hopefully tonight."gation continues."

Pistorius back in court; bail ruling expected

Olympian Oscar Pistorius returned to court on Wednesday to find out if he can be freed on bail after being charged with premeditated murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend.

This is the second day of the bail hearing that is expected to last several more days.

The charge of premeditation makes it more difficult for Pistorius' attorneys to argue he should be released pending trial. To win bail, the defense must argue that "exceptional circumstances" exist that would justify Pistorius' release.

Prosecutors have said they would ask for bail to be denied in the Valentine's Day death of Reeva Steenkamp.

Tuesday's court session ended with no decision on bail for Pistorius, 26. Prosecutors said they needed time to study the affidavits read in court before deciding how to proceed.

In a statement read by his lawyer, Pistorius said he would not try to flee or influence any witnesses if he is allowed out on bail, and he argued his release wouldn't be a danger to public order.

During Tuesday's hearing, Magistrate Desmond Nair upgraded the charge against Pistorius to premeditated murder, saying he could not rule out the possibility that the track star planned Steenkamp's death. But Nair said he will consider downgrading the charge later.

Pistorius' affidavit in alleged murder of girlfriend

A tragic mistake?

While prosecutors and defense lawyers agree Pistorius shot Steenkamp, the track star denied intentionally killing her.

"I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated murder because I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," Pistorius said in his statement.

"We were deeply in love and couldn't be happier," he said. "I loved her and I know she felt the same way."In his statement, Pistorius said Steenkamp came to his home February 13 for a quiet dinner. They wrapped up the night with a bit of television in bed for him, some yoga for her. She had brought him a Valentine's Day present to open the next day.

After the couple had gone to bed, he said he got up in the early hours of February 14 to close the balcony door in his bedroom when he heard a sound in the bathroom.

Pistorius said he'd been a victim of violence and burglary in the past, and realized with terror that contractors who worked at the house had left ladders outside.

Fearing someone had entered the home through the open bathroom window, Pistorius grabbed his 9mm pistol from under the bed, moved in the dark on the stumps of his amputated legs and yelled at what he thought was the intruder to get out.

"I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted to Reeva to phone the police. She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eye on the bathroom entrance," Pistorius said in his statement.

"Everything was pitch-dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light."

"When I reached the bed, I realized that Reeva was not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet. I returned to the bathroom calling her name," he said.

He said he threw open the balcony door and screamed for help, put on his prosthetic legs and tried to kick in the door to the separate room inside the bathroom containing the toilet. Then, he said, he picked up a cricket bat, smashing panels out of the door before finding a key and unlocking it.

"Reeva was slumped over but alive," he said.

Pistorius said he called for help and was told to take her to the hospital himself.

He carried her downstairs and tried to help her, but she died.

A premeditated murder?

Prosecutors, however, painted a different picture.

They rejected Pistorius' claim that he mistook her for a burglar, saying it would make no sense for an intruder to hide behind a locked bathroom door.

Instead, they say Pistorius armed himself, attached his prosthetic legs and walked 7 meters (23 feet) to shoot Steenkamp through a bathroom door after a heated argument.

Defense attorney Barry Roux questioned the state's argument, asking how prosecutors would know Pistorius had put on his prosthetic legs and walked to the bathroom before shooting his girlfriend.

Police were alerted to the shooting by neighbors, and residents had "heard things earlier," police spokeswoman Denise Beukes said.

Authorities said there had been "previous incidents" at the home, including "allegations of a domestic nature," but did not provide details.

Detectives are investigating the blood-stained cricket bat found in the home, Johannesburg's City Press newspaper reported. They are trying to determine whether it was used to attack Steenkamp, if she used the bat in self-defense, or if Pistorius used it to try to break down the bathroom door, the newspaper said.

The case of the global sports hero known as the "Blade Runner" has riveted stunned fans around the world.

As he walked into court in a blue shirt, gray suit and tie, frenzied photographers snapped away, prompting the judge to demand they stop.

The scene was a far cry from the packed stadiums that erupted in applause whenever the double-amputee competed against men with legs.

Social media reaction to the case came down against the sports star, but was still noticeably mixed on CNN's Facebook page.

"There's no amount of tears that will save you," said Anthonia Nneka Nwabueze. "Pistorius must face the Law for brutally killing an innocent girl - Reeva."

"My favorite athlete but what he did is grave and must be punished," Carlos Alvarez Ochoa said.

But another person who posted called for patience.

"(N)one of us were in the house when his girlfriend was murdered, let's hold off on casting stones at Oscar Pistorius," said Adrian van Liere Since. "Just like anyone else, he deserves a just trial, and in my eyes remains innocent until proven guilty."

Police: Man kills 3, himself in Southern California shooting spree

In the middle of a shooting spree that killed three people and unleashed terror on Southern California motorists Tuesday morning, Ali Syed told one of his carjacking victims to walk away, police say.

"Mr. Syed ... said, 'I don't want to hurt you, I killed somebody. Today's my last day. Give me your keys,' " Tustin Police Chief Scott Jordan told reporters.

According to preliminary accounts from police, Syed, 20, didn't intentionally spare another target.

Police say they believe Syed, a part-time college student, fatally shot a woman at his family's Ladera Ranch home before killing two other people -- including a senior citizen executed outside his vehicle -- and wounding three others as he fired a shotgun at Orange County motorists on the Costa Mesa Freeway and committed three carjackings.

The spree ended when Syed died after he turned his gun on himself as police approached on a road north of Tustin, authorities say.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department says it was called to the Ladera Ranch home, where Syed lived with his parents, on a report of shots fired about 4:45 a.m. PT.

A woman in her 20s was found dead there. Police said she wasn't related to Syed, but they didn't release her name, and they said they didn't know why she was at the home.

Syed left the home in his parents' SUV, police said. About 25 minutes after that police call and 20 miles to the northwest, Syed drove into a Denny's and Big Lots parking lot in Tustin, exited the vehicle and shot a driver in the back of the head, Jordan said.

The wounded motorist -- a man who was waiting for his son to carpool with him to work -- managed to drive away before stopping near an overpass, Jordan said. The victim was being treated Tuesday, police said.

That's when Syed, whose SUV had a flat tire, approached the man he would spare. Syed ran toward the man at a nearby gas station, took his keys and drove the pickup truck away without firing at him, Jordan said.

Syed then drove south on the Costa Mesa Freeway, exited onto a transition road, got out of the vehicle and fired a shotgun at southbound vehicles on the freeway, hitting three vehicles, police said.

One of the freeway drivers was wounded in the hand and face, but investigators don't know whether the wounds were from shotgun rounds or debris, according to Jordan.

Police said Syed then drove to nearby Santa Ana, crashing the pickup into a curb on a freeway off-ramp. There, he pointed the shotgun at Melvin L. Edwards, 69, of Laguna Hills, who was in a BMW at a stop sign.

"Syed ... got (Edwards) out of the car at gunpoint, walked him across the road and executed him -- shot him three times," Jordan said.

Syed drove Edwards' BMW to the parking lot of a Tustin-area Micro Center computer store, where police said he found his next two shooting victims.

Syed shot and killed Jeremy Lewis, 26, of Fullerton, who was in a vehicle in the lot, police said. Lewis had worked at a construction site across the street.

People from the construction site then approached, and Syed shot and wounded one of them in the arm, Jordan said. Syed entered that person's vehicle and drove north on the Costa Mesa Freeway before exiting again.

By that time, authorities had received many phone calls about the shootings, and California Highway Patrol officers found Syed driving at an intersection about 5 miles north of Tustin, Jordan said.

Syed exited the vehicle as it slowly rolled near the intersection, according to police.

"There really wasn't a confrontation at that very end," Jordan said. "As soon as he got out of his vehicle, before it actually came to a complete stop, he shot and killed himself," Jordan said.

Syed was unemployed and taking one class at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, an Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman said.

Police said they're trying to determine what led to the shootings, and that they didn't yet know of a motive.