Robert Truswell was found dead in his truck in the Klondike gold fields, Yukon Supreme Court heard Tuesday.

His white tank top was soaked in blood, his eyes were open and his head was resting on the passenger seat of his vehicle, the court was told.

A jury heard that Truswell was likely shot by George Kieran Daunt on Aug. 28, 2003.

Daunt, 50, is on trial in Whitehorse on a charge of second-degree murder.

The day of Truswell's death, Dawson City RCMP Cpl. Daniel Gaudet, who first observed the body, said he noticed a hole in the passenger side of Truswell's truck, like some sort of projectile went through the vehicle.

Outside the truck, a pool of blood was beginning to form.

Gaudet also noted Truswell to be wearing no shoes, although the man's rubber boots were nearby.

The 53-year-old was later pronounced dead at the scene by a nurse.

Earlier that day, Daunt had driven to his long-time friend Camelia Sigurdson's house and had the woman call the police after the shooting.

While Daunt and Sigurdson waited an hour for police and an ambulance to arrive, Sigurdson learned that before the shooting, Daunt had been working on his own property when Truswell drove up and started harassing Daunt.

'At first, he (Daunt) tried not to let it bother him because he knew Robert was full of hot air,' said Sigurdson.

She said Daunt had told her that Truswell had threatened Daunt, telling him he was going to get rid of him and that Daunt's property would soon be Truswell's.

Sigurdson testified that Daunt had heard from other people that Truswell wanted to kill him.

She wasn't sure how the shooting actually came about because Daunt tried to avoid talking about the details with her as he didn't want to get Sigurdson involved.

Daunt said when he left Truswell, the man was still alive, as Daunt observed Truswell driving away in his vehicle.

The court heard Tuesday that Truswell was a bit of a nuisance around Dawson City.

He was known to be 'excitable,' 'volatile,' and had a temper, said Sgt. Tim Ashmore, one of the RCMP officers who investigated Truswell's death.

The deceased had been known to often report to police that his property had been stolen or that he had been assaulted.

Truswell earned the nickname 'Two-by-Four Bob' after he struck another man in the head with a piece of lumber at Diamond Tooth Gerties gambling casino in Dawson.

Sigurdson believes that man had to be medivaced to Vancouver as a result of his injuries.

'And he's never been right since,' Sigurdson said about Truswell's victim.

In 1979, Sigurdson said her brother-in-law taught Truswell how to stake a gold claim. The two men were supposed to partners in a claim, but Truswell went out and staked it for himself, telling Sigurdson's brother-in-law: 'I staked it. It's all mine.'

Sigurdson said that in the 1980s, Truswell tried to run her off the road while she was out driving with her one-year-old son.

She alleged Truswell came up behind her in his own vehicle and started nudging her bumper. He then pulled up beside her and tried to force her off the road, the court was told.

Sigurdson said she hadn't done anything to provoke the incident.

'I didn't even know he was there until he was right behind me,' said a teary-eyed Sigurdson.

A few years later, when Sigurdson was waitressing at the bar in the Downtown Hotel, she refused to serve Truswell.

'I couldn't stand the guy,' she said.

In response, Truswell threatened to burn down the hotel if Sigurdson wasn't fired.

Sigurdson hadn't known that Truswell had a special lunch tab with the bar. She had another person serve Truswell instead.

Another time, Truswell came onto her property uninvited while she was there alone, she testified.

He told Sigurdson that none of her family's land belonged to them and that he was going to take whatever he wanted.

When Sigurdson told Truswell she was going to call the RCMP, he told her to go ahead.

He only left when Sigurdson came back with not only the phone but a shotgun.

'I told him I was going to shoot him if he didn't leave,' said Sigurdson.

Daunt's defence lawyer, Richard Fowler, said Sigurdson and Daunt weren't the only ones who had altercations with Truswell.

Fowler read from police reports that said Truswell harassed and threatened other people in Dawson.

'(Truswell) would start out being nice to you and then he would turn on you,' said Sigurdson. 'He could carry on an educated conversation and then turn out to be a flipping maniac.'

'Whether he's mentally unstable, I don't know if I'm in the position to make that assessment,' Ashmore said about Truswell.

Crown prosecutor Mike Cozens said Truswell had never been charged nor convicted of any criminal offence.

On the day of Truswell's shooting, police had trouble finding Sigurdson's property and had to call her several times for directions.

Once the RCMP did arrive, they told Daunt he was under investigation for a possible homicide.

Ashmore then tried to get Daunt to take police officers to the site where the shooting had happened.

Daunt was noted to be reluctant. Sigurdson said this is because Daunt thought Truswell was still alive and would shoot at them when they arrived.

Eventually, Daunt agreed to go with police and Sigurdson went with Daunt. Even though she was scared herself, she thought Daunt needed the moral support.

As the group drew closer to the location where the shooting occurred, Ashmore said, Daunt became more nervous.

Sigurdson said: 'If (Truswell) was alive and he'd been shot, he was going to be mad and shooting.'

Ashmore said when police found Truswell, Daunt seemed concerned about Truswell's well-being.

Later that evening, when Daunt was arrested for Truswell's murder, court was told, Daunt said: 'For all I know, it could have been me.... I don't know what to do.'

Daunt wanted police to note that he had been co-operative with them.

Justice Ron Veale is presiding over the trial.