Richard Andrew Duggan, 34, of Seccombe St, Perth, showed no emotion as the jury delivered its unanimous verdict, finding him guilty of murdering Nathan John Hortle, 24, of Prospect, on June 20.

The victim's father, Insp. Steve Hortle, of George Town, was crying even before the verdict was delivered, and friends of Duggan in the public gallery let out gasps and cries as he was found guilty.

One woman was so distressed she had to be helped from the court clutching her stomach so she could be sick.

Chief Justice William Cox made a few notes and then sentenced Duggan immediately, jailing him for 16 years and making no order regarding a non- parole period.

Duggan had pleaded not guilty, claiming that he shot Mr Hortle in self- defence.

Mr Hortle was killed after he and his friend, Scott Richmond, went to Perth to confront Duggan, who was the ex-husband of Mr Richmond's girlfriend.

The confrontation started at Duggan's house and moved down Seccombe St, with Duggan firing warning shots at Mr Hortle, who followed him, before the fatal shot.

Chief Justice Cox said he accepted that Duggan's crime was at the ``lower end of the scale'' for a murder, and accepted that he had been scared of Mr Hortle. But Duggan's response had been excessive, he said.

Outside the court, Insp. Hortle described the incident as a tragedy and expressed his sympathy for Duggan's family.

``I feel as sorry for Duggan's family as I do for my own,'' he said.

``There are no winners in this.

``I get no happiness seeing someone charged with the murder of my son _ it's a tragedy that it's happened.''

On June 19, Richard Duggan sat drinking beer and chatting with his ex-wife Naomi McKeown, his stepson Adrian McKeown and Mrs McKeown's boyfriend Scott Richmond.

Everything seemed normal enough, except that Mr Richmond, who did not like Duggan, refused to speak to him and rejected his offer of a beer.

Less than 12 hours later, after a tragic escalation of tensions, Mr Richmond's close friend Nathan Hortle, 24, was dead, and Duggan and Mr McKeown were in police custody charged with his murder.

Duggan, 34, and Mr McKeown, 17, had arrived at Mrs McKeown's home in Talbot Rd, South Launceston, late that Saturday afternoon after spending the day in the Central Highlands.

Duggan wanted to discuss some money he believed Mrs McKeown owed him after their separation three years before, and he wanted two jumpers he thought he had left there.

Mrs McKeown met them at the front door and invited them in to the lounge room, where they all sat down.

Duggan noticed that Mrs McKeown and Mr Richmond had pay TV, and he commented that it was probably why she could not pay him the money. He joked that he might shoot the aerial off her roof.

As their 40-minute chat drew to a close, Duggan became frustrated at Mr Richmond's refusal to acknowledge his presence. As he left the house, he turned to Mr Richmond and said: ``See you later, peckerhead.''

Mr Richmond got up from his chair and moved towards Duggan, who was already outside, but Mrs McKeown blocked his path and closed the door.

Duggan returned to his house in Seccombe St, Perth, with Mr McKeown, who frequently spent weekends with his stepfather. Mr McKeown's 15-year-old friend Bradley Harwood was also staying there.

Mrs McKeown telephoned the house soon afterwards because she was worried about Duggan's visit, and she thought her son had been uneasy with the tension involving Mr Richmond.

She told her son she did not want Duggan to come to her house again, and Mr McKeown replied that he would not visit again if Duggan were banned.

He also said he would kill Mr Richmond if he ever touched Duggan.

Duggan phoned Mrs McKeown several hours later to tell her that Mr McKeown and Bradley had had a fight in a nearby paddock and Mr McKeown had taken off in a truck.

She asked Duggan to ring her when he knew more, and he called again soon afterwards to say Mr McKeown was back and was all right.

Bradley and Mr McKeown later told the court they had only had a tiff and neither of them had left Duggan's house.

Mr Richmond, who was listening to the phone calls in the background, became more and more agitated, saying, ``Piss off, piss off!''

He rang a friend on a mobile phone, and although Mrs McKeown did not hear the whole conversation she said it ``sounded like trouble''.

When she asked Mr Richmond what was going on, he said he was going ``out to Perth to see what Richie's problem was''.

Mr Richmond had called Mr Hortle, who was drinking at a birthday party at Prospect. Mr Hortle told a group of friends that there was going to be a fight at Perth, and that they should come as back-up. With another man, Mr Hortle drove to Mrs McKeown's house to get Mr Richmond about midnight.

Four other young men drove to Perth later, but arrived after the murder.

Mrs McKeown begged Mr Richmond not to go. She tried but failed to stop him getting into the car, and Mr Hortle drove off _ as she later said _ ``like I wasn't even there''.

She rang Duggan immediately and told him to get the two boys out of the house and take them to the Central Highlands for the night. She would not tell him what was going on, only that something bad would happen.

She rang five minutes later and again told him to get out of the house.

But Duggan and Mr McKeown armed themselves with shotguns and rifles. Then Duggan took his car and Bradley to a safe place further along Seccombe St. Mr McKeown waited in a paddock opposite Duggan's house.

It was around 2am.

Mr Richmond arrived with his friends and went in through the open back door. Mr Hortle started removing clothes from the washing line.

Duggan, returning, was nearing his house when he heard Mr McKeown fire a warning shot and tell the visitors to go away.

Duggan, Mr McKeown, Mr Hortle and Mr Richmond all met near the end of the driveway, where Mr Hortle punched Mr McKeown and grabbed for his shotgun.

Mr McKeown later told the court that Mr Hortle, who had a blood-alcohol level of 0.2, did not seem able to walk straight.

Duggan fired a warning shot, and he and Mr McKeown started walking backwards down Seccombe St.

Duggan fired several more warning shots as he backed down the road, but Mr Hortle kept following, waving his arms and yelling.

About 200m down the road, near Andersons Taxis, Duggan fired a warning shot that gouged a chunk out of the bitumen beside Mr Hortle's feet.

But Mr Hortle still kept approaching, waving his arms and yelling, ``Kill me!'' as he walked.

He followed Duggan over a fence into Andersons Taxis, where the final confrontation took place.

Duggan later told police that the yard was dark and littered with objects, and that he felt he had nowhere left to go.

He shot Mr Hortle, who was unarmed throughout, with his 12-gauge shotgun from a range of 3m.

The shot left a gaping 7cm wound in Mr Hortle's upper abdomen, causing massive damage to his liver and a kidney as well as rupturing his aorta. He died soon afterwards.

Duggan was arrested by police at his next-door neighbour's house a short time later.