The mother and sister of a man who was shot dead outside the Hughes shops have spoken of the ''excruciating'', ''unbearable'' pain their family has suffered since the murder.
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In an emotional court hearing, the mother of Brendan Scott Welsh looked at her son's killer, and asked: ''Why did you take the life of my son, the father of three beautiful children?''
Kai Yuen, 28, ambushed and shot Mr Welsh, one of his oldest friends, with a double-barrel shotgun as he sat in the driver's seat of a car in 2010.
The shooting followed an escalating tit-for-tat argument between the pair, first sparked by the inadvertent taking of a set of house keys.
Yuen has pleaded guilty to murder - the first person to do so in the ACT in more than 15 years - but is disputing the facts of the killing in the ACT Supreme Court.
He claims he never intended to shoot Mr Welsh, and says the gun discharged accidentally after it became unbalanced as he went to open the door to the car.
Yuen says a second shot was accidentally fired after the gun recoiled.
Crown prosecutor Shane Drumgold has accused Yuen of making up that version of events, constantly chopping and changing his story, and entering the guilty plea to avoid a life sentence.
But Yuen's barrister, Theresa Warwick, said the court could not disprove Yuen's evidence beyond reasonable doubt.
Yuen sat with his head bowed as Mr Welsh's mother, Karen Welsh, and sister, Sally Hughes, read emotional victim impact statements to the court on Friday, describing how the murder had changed their worlds in the ''blink of an eye''.
Mrs Hughes spoke of the deep love she held for her older brother, and how the words of the police officer telling her he had been killed constantly echoed in her head.
She told the court of how her brother was loved and adored by his three children, and the pain of seeing their three little faces lost and overcome with grief at his funeral.
Mrs Welsh spoke of being grasped by fear after the shooting, and the horror, nightmare and frightening reality of losing her son in such a terrible way.
Both spoke of the pain of having news of his death constantly published in local media.
Towards the end of her statement, Mrs Welsh asked: ''Why would anyone commit such a heinous crime?''
Addressing Yuen she said: ''Why did you take the life of my son, the father of three beautiful children?
''All we have are photos and a grave to visit.
''And yet you have your life, your family, and your friends.''
Justice Hilary Penfold is expected to decide on the disputed facts, and has begun hearing sentencing submissions in the case.
The matter is due back before the ACT Supreme Court on Monday.
