The defence representing George Kieran Daunt wrapped up its case Tuesday in Yukon Supreme Court.

Daunt, 50, is charged with the 2003 second-degree murder of 53-year-old Robert Truswell near Dawson City.

His lawyers, Elaine Cairns and Richard Fowler, called three witnesses, including Daunt himself, in his defence.

Earlier this month, the Crown prosecutors had called 25 witnesses for its case.

Initially, before the trial began early this month, the Crown estimated that up to 100 witnesses could be called.

However, certain admissions made by the defence and certain witnesses reduced this number.

Both the Crown and defence will make their final arguments Thursday. From there, Justice Ron Veale will be giving his final instructions to the jury before it's sequestered.

Veale told the jury not to make any plans for the long Victoria Day weekend, as the deliberations could take a few days.

Yesterday, Fowler called two witnesses in relation to an incident involving Truswell threatening to kill three youth who had stolen a chain saw from him.

The first witness was the mother of one of those youth. She said she and her husband confronted Truswell after hearing rumours of those threats.

Truswell confirmed he would shoot her son if he was ever near Truswell's gold fields property again.

'We could see it was no use talking to him. He wasn't changing how he felt,' she said.

The mother cannot be named because of federal laws protecting the youths' identities.

Alberta RCMP Cpl. Joel Syr was the next to be called by Fowler.

Syr, who worked in Dawson in the late 1990s, said the mother reported the threats to him.

The boys' break and enter was to be dealt with informally by a conference circle, as the boys admitted to taking the chain saw.

But Syr cancelled the conference after the mother reported the threats.

'She was upset and scared for the children's safety,' he said about the mother.

The corporal went up to speak with Truswell about the threats. Truswell had told the officer there was an unwritten rule in the gold fields. Truswell said anyone on his property was fair game and could be shot and placed in a tailing pond, never to be found.

'It was his property and he was going to protect it,' said Syr. '(Truswell) stated that he had a rifle and he would use it if necessary.'

Truswell told Syr that anyone who tried to steal his gold deserved to be shot, just like the man he had struck in the head with a two-by-four deserved it.

Crown prosecutor David McWhinnie pointed out that Truswell might have made the threats in his frustration with the legal system.

It took two years for the matter to be dealt with. In the end, the children did not do the community service required of them because one parent felt too much time had passed for the work to make its point.

McWhinnie suggested that sometimes when people are frustrated, like Truswell was, they say things they don't mean.

On Monday, Daunt testified. He said he shot at Truswell because he was scared for his life. Daunt told the court he had heard from Wayne Hawkes that Truswell wanted to kill him.

On Aug. 28, 2003, Truswell showed up at Daunt's property and started accusing Daunt of stealing his father's will.

Truswell was known to misplace his property, and unfairly blame people for his losses, said Daunt.

Daunt said he asked Truswell to leave, when the man refused. Daunt fired a warning shot with his rifle, which caused Truswell to charge him with his truck, Daunt told court. Daunt fired two more shots at Truswell, who just missed Daunt.

Daunt said he was not sure he had injured Truswell.

The accused let out a huge sigh on the stand before testifying and took several deep breaths while recalling the shooting.

'I was convinced that he was there to kill me,' Daunt emphasized over and over again.

He thought Truswell had a gun, as he knew the man owned two high-powered rifles.

The first time Daunt said he ever met Truswell, Truswell was violent.

During that incident, Daunt saw Truswell attack a man for wages Truswell thought the man owed him for building a hydraulic monitor.

Daunt said Truswell had the ability to be really nice or angry and violent.

At times when Daunt saw Truswell angry, he said the man looked like a 'wild, wild animal.'

The accused said he went out of his way to help Truswell in an effort to keep Truswell appeased.

However, the summer Truswell had been shot, Daunt had reported Truswell to the mining inspector for mining on land that wasn't his and for not having the proper water use licence.

Daunt was at Diamond Tooth Gerties gambling casino when Truswell earned his name Two-by-four in the early 1980s.

He had had his back turned to Truswell and was playing black jack when he heard Truswell arguing with another man who had asked Truswell to leave a party earlier that week.

Truswell said he was going to come back and kill that man, but Daunt left the casino.

Hawkes, who had witnessed Truswell hit the man with a piece of lumber, told the court he had thought Truswell had killed him.

'He knocked him right out of his shoes.'

Last week, mining partners Kent Jenkins and Steve Van Bibber were having coffee outside with Truswell when Daunt got out of a truck to accuse Truswell of stealing some hoses and peanut butter from him. Jenkins said Daunt did most of the screaming and chest-butting.

Van Bibber said Truswell argued right back, court heard.

'They were arguing about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or jars of peanut butter or something,' Van Bibber testified.

He said Daunt and Truswell were standing nose-to-nose and chest-to-chest while they argued.

The two fought until the man who had driven Daunt there urged him to get back in the vehicle.

Daunt had a different version of events.

He said he had gotten out to confront Truswell about rumours Truswell had spread about him.

Truswell had been saying Daunt was mining on a company's land illegally, when in actuality, Daunt had an arrangement to mine the company's land.

Daunt had the paperwork ready to show Truswell, and that's when Truswell accused Daunt of taking peanut butter and hoses from him.

Daunt said he screamed at him, but denied doing any chest-butting, like Jenkins had said.

McWhinnie said it seemed strange that Daunt just happened to be driving by Truswell with his mining papers.

Daunt said he had them on him to show to his father as well.