A man who is facing a trial by jury accused of killing his estranged wife's lover, Martino Gatt, told jurors this morning that the victim, Louis Ellul, had used him as a suicide weapon.

"Just like someone who wants to commit suicide turns the gun onto himself, he (the victim) turned me, as the weapon, onto himself," Mr Gatt said this morning as he added that he was "at peace" and felt no remorse for what he had done.

Mr Gatt was addressing jurors in his defence, in his attempt to convince them that he is not guilty of murder.

The jurors are expected to embark on their deliberations tomorrow, once the judge concludes his address explaining the law.

The accused said he never looked for Mr Ellul to, in any way, pay him back for destroying his family. Had he wanted to kill him, he would have gone to his garage where he would have been alone rather than endanger his own children.

"I went to Pembroke to see my children, for whom I always did everything. It was he who intruded in my family life. It was he who impeded me from seeing my own children," he said.

He explained that he had filed several police reports against Mr Ellul because of the provocation he was suffering and because of the trouble he was giving him to see his own children.

Mr Gatt is facing a trial by jury, today in its fourth day, in which he stands accused of killing Mr Ellul, 34, the partner of his estranged wife, Joanne Bajada, by shooting him outside the church in Pembroke on December 2, 2007, at about 11.30am. He is also charged with injuring a 14-year-old girl who was hit by pellets.

Mr Gatt, who is representing himself after refusing a lawyer at the beginning of his trial, told jurors that Mr Ellul had his own family and his own daughter and had abandoned them and "took possession of my children".

"My son always heard stories putting his father in a bad light. He (Mr Ellul) brought all this upon himself. My daughter, who is now 17 years old, one day told me her mother was not letting her brother speak to him and they felt threatened by her. She (my ex wife) is doing her best for my children not to know the truth," he said.

Mr Gatt continued that he was willing to do everything for his children and if they wanted to go abroad, we was ready to pay for a holiday to Disneyland "and I would also pay for his (Mr Ellul's) daughter" to go with them."

"In all these years, I did not feel any remorse or felt guilty for what I had done until I saw the photos of Mr Ellul's injuries during this trial by jury. I am willing to accept a prison sentence. My heart is at peace and I ready to accept any punishment, just like Christ accepted to be crucified.

That Sunday December 2, 2007, all I needed was seeing this man with my family. All I needed was that push. I thought I was going to have a family but the devil wanted me to face this tragedy instead," he said.

Mr Gatt said this case was a suicide not homicide. He claimed that Mr Ellul provoked him for four years and had trampled on his family.

"Everyone has a limit. There was an outsider who took over my family and was doing all he could to keep me away from my own children. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to defend myself," he concluded.