Oscar Pistorius spoke in court during his trial for killing his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, emotionally making an apology to the late model's family before the trial was cut short due to the Blade Runner's extreme levels of exhaustion.
The track star said he fired four times through a locked toilet door at his Pretoria home in the belief he was defending Reeva from an intruder.
But, before offering his evidence, Pistorius directly addressed Reeva's mother June, who stared down at her daughter's killer from the public gallery
He said: "I want to take this opportunity to apologise to Mr and Mrs Steenkamp.
"There hasn't been a moment since this tragedy happened that I haven't thought about your family.
"I wake up every morning and you're the first people I think of. The first people I pray for.
"I can’t imagine the pain and the sorrow and the emptiness that I’ve caused you and your family. I was simply trying to protect Reeva.
"I can promise you that when she went to bed that night she felt loved.
"I have tried to put my words on paper many times to write to you but no words would ever suffice."
He added that he is now on anti-depressants and unable to sleep, admitting: "I'm scared to sleep. I can smell blood and wake up terrified.
"I'm just in a complete state of terror. I fall asleep and wake up like that."
He also added that he never wants to be near a gun again.
The trial was later adjourned after his lawyers said he was exhausted by a lack of sleep and the first day of testimony.
"I'm just very tired at the moment... I think it's a lot of things going through my mind," said Pistorius.
"The weight of this is extremely overbearing."
The trial continues.