A Lottah man accused of murdering his neighbour by shooting him in the back of the head called triple-0 and said he “just snapped”, a jury has heard.
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Kerry Alexander Bilston, 65, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Dean Manshanden, 47, in October last year.
During the first day of the trial in the Launceston Supreme Court on Monday morning, the jury heard an ongoing dispute between the men over a shared access driveway was at the centre of the alleged murder.
Mr Bilston was arrested at his Lottah property after he called triple-0 to report Mr Manshanden’s death on October 15, telling the operator he “just got sick and tired of this man bullying us”.
During a police interview that night, Mr Bilston said Mr Manshanden was verbally abusing him and his partner and he “just thought I’m going to go and confront this bastard”.
He told police his intention was to scare Mr Manshanden by firing the gun above his head.
But Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates described Mr Bilston as an experienced shooter and said he “must have known by shooting so close to Mr Manshanden’s head there was a real chance” of killing him.
Mr Coates said Mr Manshanden was shot from about 30 metres away, the projectile entering the back of his head and exiting near his left ear – killing him “instantaneously”.
“It doesn’t matter whether the accused, when he fired the shot, intended to strike and kill Mr Manshanden … on the Crown case, he is still guilty of murder,” Mr Coates told the jury.
The defence did not make any opening statements to the jury.
The trial before Justice Robert Pearce will continue on Monday afternoon, with more than 20 witnesses expected to be called over the next week.