Gun went off during struggle, court told

Heather Stephenson-Snell spoke for the first time about the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of a man in Radcliffe.

In her defence, she said she wore the Scream costume because she was planning to go to a Hallowe'en party -- and said the gun went off accidentally in the struggle with neighbour Robert Wilkie, who she claimed had punched her in the face.

Stephenson-Snell is alleged to have meticulously planned the killing of her ex-lover Adrian Sinclair's girlfriend Diane Lomax, even taking shooting lessons, working out escape routes, devising disguises and researching her intended victim's home.

Snell told Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday that she went turned up at Diane Lomax's home in Holland Street, Radcliffe, wearing the Halloween mask and carrying a sawn off shotgun in order to find the whereabouts of Mr Sinclair.

But after Ms Lomax refused to speak to her, neighbour Mr Wilkie, aged 43, came out to investigate the argument that was taking place between the pair.

Stephenson-Snell told the court that Mr Wilkie got into an argument with her and tried to rip the Scream mask from her face.

She alleges that Mr Wilkie punched her several times, and in the struggle the shotgun went off.

Stephenson-Snell, aged 46, of Crombie Avenue, York, denies murdering Mr Wilkie and the attempted murder of Ms Lomax.

She has also pleaded not guilty to a third charge, an alternative to the attempted murder indictment of possessing a firearm with the intent to endanger life.

Stephenson-Snell told the court that she had become "obsessed" with finding Mr Sinclair. She alleged that he stole her Rottweiler dog Sammy, and she wanted to get him back.

The court heard that on October 31, 2003, Snell drove from her home in York to Radcliffe.

She parked a red Ford Escort yards from Holland Street and put on her Scream mask and cloak in the car. She put on a pair of pink gloves and loaded the shotgun.

Defending, Ben Nolan QC, asked Stephenson-Snell why she wore that particular outfit to confront Ms Lomax.

Stephenson-Snell said: "I had a suspicion that Diane Lomax might know what I looked like. Well it was Hallowe'en and I was planning on going to a party after getting my dog back."

She walked to Ms Lomax's house with the shotgun concealed under her disguise. She said the gun was hanging from a holster on her right shoulder, with the safety catch down.

Stephenson-Snell knocked on Ms Lomax's door and asked to speak to her.

Ms Lomax eventually opened the door but she was told to leave. Stephenson-Snell said she asked Lomax "could she speak to her about something?"

She said that they started talking and Ms Lomax asked who she was, but she did not want to tell her.

Stephenson-Snell then said she became aware of a man, Mr Willkie, standing next to her, who had come out from a nearby house.

She said that Mr Wilkie started shouting at her and told her to keep the noise down because his children were sleeping.

She told him that he wanted to speak to Ms Lomax. Stephenson-Snell alleges that Mr Wilkie then became aggressive towards her and told her to take her mask off.

According to Stephenson-Snell, Mr Wilkie grabbed her mask, pulling it half from her face. He then punched her three or four times in the face. She said she became disorientated before falling to the ground.

She said the gun went off while the pair were struggling on the ground.

Mr Nolan asked her whether she was aware that Mr Wilkie had been shot. She said: "I don't recall seeing him."

After the shot had been fired, Stephenson-Snell said that she crawled away from Mr Wilkie before running away to her car.

She said she took off her bloodstained Scream mask and cloak while driving back on the M62 to York.

She was stopped by police on the M62 close to the Pennines and was taken to a police station in Leeds.

Proceeding