Lawyers made their final arguments to a Yukon Supreme Court jury Thursday in the George Kieran Daunt trial.

Daunt, a 50-year-old Dawson City man, is charged with the second-degree murder of Robert Truswell.

Defence lawyer Richard Fowler said Thursday Daunt killed Truswell in self-defence on Aug. 28, 2003.

The Crown suggested Daunt did it because he was angry with Truswell.

Truswell was a well-known bully who lived in the Dawson gold fields.

Over the last three weeks, Justice Ron Veale and the jury have heard Truswell, 53, had a reputation for threatening to kill people.

Truswell was also known to attack people he didn't like or suspected to be trespassing or stealing.

The jury heard how Truswell shot at a teenager on a motorbike and a second man who was out hunting a bear.

Truswell also almost killed another man in Diamond Tooth Gerties gambling casino after he struck the man with a two-by-six piece of lumber.

That attack followed shortly after Truswell said he was going to kill the man.

Truswell was also convicted of uttering threats after he threatened to kill his sister during a trip to New Zealand.

Fowler said Daunt had every reason to fear Truswell. The lawyer told the jury to put themselves in Daunt's shoes that day.

Fowler asked the jury members if they would have taken the chance with their lives and think 'it's not going to be serious this time.

'You'd be panicked. Think about what fear does to you,' Fowler said about why his client shot at Truswell.

'This was not-OK' Robert at his worst,' the Vancouver-based lawyer continued. 'This is the Robert who had threatened to kill kids on motorbikes. The Robert who almost killed a man with a two-by-six.'

Fowler pointed out that his client was alone on top of the gold fields, kilometres away from a phone.

'(Daunt) acted instinctively, not intentionally,' said Fowler. 'He acted to save his life. He acted in self-defence.'

The Canadian Criminal Code excuses the taking of another life if it is done in self-defence. This means a person has to believe it was necessary to kill.

'Did he (Daunt) believe he was at risk of death?' Fowler asked the jury. 'Did he believe he had to shoot to protect himself?'

Fowler suggested his client did believe this. He said Daunt wasn't in the position to use hindsight.

Truswell had no gun with him on the day he was killed. Fowler said his client didn't know that.

'(Daunt) didn't have the opportunity to look in Mr. Truswell's truck,' said Fowler.

The defence lawyer pointed out how Daunt couldn't see Truswell's hands. Fowler said Daunt's decision to shoot was based on the threats Truswell made and Daunt's knowledge that Truswell had guns.

Daunt's actions were completely reasonable, the defence lawyer said.

'This isn't a fear of spiders. This is a fear for your life,' said Fowler.

He said when someone is faced with that kind of fear, he or she acts uncontrollably on autopilot, which sometimes makes people act irrationally.

The shooting was a part of Daunt's rush to get away, said Fowler.

'Robert Truswell appeared from nowhere,' Fowler said about the fatal day. 'Mr. Daunt thought he was there to kill him.'

Fowler asked why else was Truswell on Daunt's property that day if Truswell wasn't there to kill Daunt?

He asked why Truswell had aggressively driven so close to Daunt that day, when he could have easily driven around him at a greater distance.

Fowler pointed out that when Wayne Hawkes heard of Truswell's death threats against Daunt, he told Daunt.

'Mr. Hawkes took it seriously,' said Fowler. 'He didn't just think this was Robert mouthing off again.'

The lawyer also said Daunt was afraid of Truswell in the days leading up to the shooting.

Daunt was sleeping in his car so Truswell wouldn't attack Daunt at his home, court was told. Andrew Sigurdson, a friend of Daunt's, noted the accused to be acting unusually paranoid a few days before the shooting.

Daunt had told Sigurdson he was scared of Truswell and was carrying his gun to protect himself from Truswell.

Fowler also recalled Daunt's testimony about how, before the shooting, Truswell seemed to feed off Daunt's fear, becoming angrier and angrier.

'Truswell would have known he was intimidating Kieran, but he didn't let up. He didn't do anything to let Kieran know he wasn't going to carry out those threats,' said Fowler.

After the shooting, Daunt was scared to return to scene, in case Truswell was still alive and would take revenge, the lawyer added.

'He wasn't scared of the police. He wanted them called. He was scared of Truswell,' said Fowler.

The lawyer reminded the jury his client will have to live for the rest of his life knowing he killed another man.

Crown prosecutor David McWhinnie told the jury that Daunt is guilty of second-degree murder and that Daunt's actions were not ones of self-defence.

McWhinnie suggested Daunt killed Truswell because he was mad at the man who entered an agreement with Daunt's father.

Truswell had been advising Daunt's father how to evict Daunt from the land he had lived on for more than 20 years.

Daunt also believed his father had given Truswell a piece of machinery instead of lending it to Daunt, who needed it for his own mining operation.

Later, Daunt had learned his father did not lend the mining equipment to Truswell.

'Kieran Daunt shot Robert Truswell and he died,' said McWhinnie.

The Crown said Daunt told conflicting stories to people about the shooting.

Daunt told one of his best friends, Camelia Sigurdson, that he thought he might have hit Truswell with a bullet, but later told RCMP Sgt. Tim Ashmore that he did hit Truswell and followed up that comment by saying, 'I probably shouldn't have said that.'

McWhinnie said Daunt's evidence also contradicts that of Daunt's former girlfriend, Josee Bonhomme.

She said Daunt had told her Truswell had been watching Daunt that day. Camelia Sigurdson said Daunt had said something similar to her and that Daunt had said he ignored Truswell at first.

Daunt denies telling the two women this. He said as soon as he saw Truswell, he tried to run to his own vehicle in an effort to get away.

Fowler said Daunt is a credible witness because he told the jury what he remembered.

The defence lawyer said it would be impossible for his client to remember every step he took that day; it would mean that he tailored his evidence to fit with the forensics.

McWhinnie suggested what actually happened is that Truswell pulled up to Daunt's property to talk to Daunt.

He waited in his truck until Daunt was done his work at his sluice box, then pulled up to Daunt's truck to speak with him.

McWhinnie said Daunt would like the jury to believe he ran to his truck to get away and Truswell beat him there.

The Crown said that after an argument ensued, Daunt shouldered the gun or was standing on the box of his truck, as one of the bullets entered through the truck on a downward angle.

McWhinnie said Daunt would have known that he had hit Truswell because the fatal shot was fired two to four feet away.

The Crown recalled the evidence of Justice of the Peace John Tyrell.

Truswelll had told Tyrell that he feared Daunt and asked Tyrell to keep some mining papers of his.

McWhinnie said that in the hours leading up to the shooting incident, Truswell did not seem like a man 'spoiling for a fight.'

A few hours before the shooting, Truswell was helping tourists pan for gold.

Other witnesses who talked to Truswell the day before the shooting described him as happy because things were finally going 'his way.'

McWhinnie said Truswell wasn't looking for a fight and that Daunt had shot him only because he was mad at Truswell.

The jury has been excused until Tueday, when Veale will give its members instructions before they go into deliberations.