A CHILLING tape recording of the moment a man was shot by a killer wearing a Scream mask was played to the jury in a murder trial on Wednesday.

Robert Wilkie died minutes after being shot in the stomach at point-blank range on Hallowe'en Night last year by a killer wearing the mask and a cloak.

Manchester Crown Court has been told that Mr Wilkie was killed by a single shot fired from a gun - but that he had not been the killer's target.

The prosecution has alleged that 46-year-old Heather Stephenson-Snell had gone to the house of her love rival Diane Lomax - next door to Mr Wilkie in Holland Street, Radcliffe - intending to kill her.

Mr Wilkie was shot when he went out to investigate a noise.

Stephenson-Snell, a psychotherapist and leader of an all-female Hell's Angel bike gang, is alleged to have planned the killing of Diane Lomax down to last detail and to have hidden a sawn-off shotgun under a cloak when she arrived at Ms Lomax's home.

Stephenson Snell, aged 46, of Crombie Avenue, York, denies murderiung Mr Wilkie and attempting to murder Diane Lomax.

The jury of six men and six women at Manchester Crown Court were played part of a nine-minute CCTV video tape taken by a camera on a house in a neighbouring street.

Although no images of the late-night confrontation were visible, the jury heard the harrowing soundtrack that featured prolonged knocking on Ms Lomax's door.

Then the jury heard raised, muffled voices as a door in Holland Street was opened.

Then, a deafening crack of gunfire rang through the courtroom and jurors heard what seemed to be a man's voice followed by the screams and cries of women.

Earlier in the hearing, the court was told that Mr Wilkie, aged 43, had only gone outside to tell a person banging on his neighbour's door to be quiet as children were in bed.

The former army commando and pub landlord died from a single wound to his stomach, fired from close range.

The gun that fired the fatal shot was also shown to the jury yesterday.

Ballistics expert Paul Oldham said the gun had been sawn off at the barrel and stock to make it half its original length.

A home-made shoulder strap had been tied to the stock to allow the powerful 12-bore shotgun to be concealed beneath the white sheet, he said. At the other end, the strap was connected to the trigger allowing it to be fired by pulling on the strap. Padding was also found on the butt of the gun.

Mr Oldham demonstrated how the gun would be fired using the strap, which rested on the trigger when the gun was hanging vertically by his side.

Defending, Ben Nolan QC asked Mr Oldham: "If the butt of the gun had struck a wall, could it not have pulled the strap tighter against the trigger and caused it to fire?"

"Yes, that's possible," said Mr Oldham.

Stephenson-Snell was arrested after police, who stopped her while driving along the M62, found a cache of ammunition, a gun and a blood-spattered sheet in her car, just hours after the killing on November 1 last year.

The alleged intended target, Ms Lomax, was the new lover of Stephenson-Snell's ex-boyfriend, Adrian Sinclair.

Earlier this week the court heard that Stephenson-Snell had waged a hate campaign against the Mr Sinclair and Ms Lomax after learning about their relationship.

Stephenson-Snell and Mr Sinclair, a former male stripper, had begun a relationship in spring, 2002, after he moved to her home in York. They embarked on a sexual relationship over the summer before she attended a course in America.

Sinclair then moved to Manchester and struck up a relationship with Ms Lomax.

On her return in November, 2003, Stephenson-Snell learned about the new relationship from an acquaintance of Mr Sinclair's and is alleged to have threatened to mutilate her rival and kill Mr Sinclair.

Proceeding