• Oscar Pistorius case

Pistorius 'on the verge of suicide', claims friend

Oscar Pistorius has been described as "broken man" by a friend © AP

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Oscar Pistorius is "on the verge of suicide" as he struggles to deal with his impending murder trial, according to a close friend of the South African runner.

Pistorius, 26, is currently on bail - as he prepares to stand trial for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, after she was shot dead in the bathroom of his house in February.

Pistorius, who maintains that he believed Steenkamp was an intruder and shot her by mistake, will next appear in court on June 4.

A close friend of the Olympian, Mike Azzie, is worried Pistorius is increasingly struggling to cope with his current circumstances - as he sells off his assets in order to pay for the spiralling legal fees involved with his case.

Speaking to documentary makers, Azzie described Pistorius as "a broken man".

"He just always seems to mention Reeva and to ask us to pray for her and her family," Azzie told documentary makers, for a programme set to air on BBC3 on Monday. "But most of all, you've got to understand that we are there for him and we will always be his friend.

"He has no confidence in his tone of voice and he is just a man that is almost like someone that is walking around in circles and doesn't know where he is going.

"I would say that, just speaking to him, that he is a broken man and that I would go as far to say that he would be on the verge of suicide. It really worries me."

According to the documentary makers, police in Johannesburg have requested all records of phone calls and messages exchanged between Pistorius and Steenkamp on the day of her death.

Officers are also searching through the text messages on Steenkamp's phone.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.