'I've just shot my best mate': Man charged with killing his friend with a bullet to the head in front of his baby son said 'just kill me' after century-old rifle fired fatal round
- Hayden Dove Fenton on trial for shooting death of best friend Bailey Davenport
- Court heard Davenport was shot in the head by faulty rifle Fenton was holding
- Police said Fenton pleaded with them to 'kill him' when they arrived on scene
- Davenport's 15-month-old son and partner were both present at the time
A South Australian man shot in the head with a faulty, century-old rifle was the victim of 'a disaster waiting to happen', a court has heard.
On day one of Hayden Dove Fenton's trial, prosecutors said he told friends 'I've just shot my best mate' and 'just kill me' after he shot Bailey Davenport in July 2017.
Mr Davenport, 21, was left with catastrophic injuries and died in hospital a day later.
South Australian man Hayden Dove Fenton (pictured when given bail in 2018) is on trial for the shooting death of his best friend Bailey Davenport in July of 2017
The Supreme Court heard on Monday Fenton, 30, had been drinking bourbon on the morning of the shooting before he and Mr Davenport drove into a forest at Parawa, on the Fleurieu Peninsula, to chop firewood.
Mr Davenport's partner, cousin and 15-month-old son also made the journey, as well as a friend of Fenton's.
Prosecutor Mark Norman SC told the court the group stopped at a paddock on the way, where Fenton retrieved a rifle that had been hidden in bushland.
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He said the rifle had been manufactured sometime between 1904 and 1931, meaning it was up to 113 years old in 2017, and had several mechanical issues.
'Even with careful handling, that firearm rifle was prone to discharge accidentally,' Mr Norman told the jury.
'It was, the prosecution suggests, a disaster waiting to happen.'
On the first day of the trial the court heard a group of friends were using a century-old rifle to fire shots at a bottle of bourbon before Davenport (pictured) was somehow shot in the head
His friends immediately loaded Davenport (pictured with paramedics and a doctor desperately trying to save his life) into a car and rushed him to hospital but he died from his injuries
The group had been firing shots at a bottle of bourbon before the incident, although none said they saw Fenton fire the fatal shot.
They loaded the injured Mr Davenport into the car and drove him to the hospital, but he was unable to be saved.
Mr Norman said there was no suggestion Fenton had shot his friend deliberately.
'This was a terrible accident, but it was an accident that we say was entirely avoidable,' he said.
'It was an accident we say should never have happened, it was an accident which we say Mr Fenton is criminally responsible (for).'
Fenton, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of manslaughter, later told police the rifle belonged to Mr Davenport.
The trial continues before Justice Mark Livesey, with the jury due to visit the forest on Tuesday.
Fenton, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of manslaughter, later told police the rifle belonged to Mr Davenport (pictured being airlifted)
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