SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - RCMP Const. Christopher Worden was shot at least twice at close range when he was gunned down in Hay River two years ago, according to a firearms expert.

The gun used by Bulatci, who tried to plead guilty to manslaughter on the opening day of his Supreme Court jury trial, has not been recovered.

John Marshall, a forensic firearms expert with the RCMP, took the stand on day 11 of Emrah Bulatci's first-degree murder trial in Yellowknife on Wednesday.

Marshall said four shell casings found at the Hay River crime scene came from a .40-calibre Smith and Wesson semi-automatic gun. He testified the two bullets found in Worden's body came from the same gun, but the bullets didn't fit the RCMP-issued gun Worden was carrying.

The gun used by Bulatci, who tried to plead guilty to manslaughter on the opening day of his Supreme Court jury trial, has not been recovered.

Worden, 30, was wearing a bullet-proof vest and patrol jacket when he was killed in the early morning hours of Oct. 6, 2007. He was shot four times: in the lower abdomen, chest, left shoulder area and neck.

Marshall later examined the holes in Worden's uniform. He testified there was smoke residue on Worden's jacket, indicating the gun was fired close to the fabric.

Of the multiple holes in Worden's jacket near the shoulder, he said "the muzzle to target distance would be less than three inches (7.6 centimetres)."

He added that the distance from the holes in the chest area to the gun was less than 15 centimetres.

Marshall said he didn't find any gun residue on Worden's pants, so, in that instance, he concluded the distance between the gun and the clothing would have been greater than 30 centimetres.

Under cross examination, Marshall said it was difficult to equate damage to parts of clothing with wounds on the victim's body because clothing can move. The holes in Worden's patrol jacket are in the right side of the jacket, but he sustained bullet wounds to the left side of his chest and his left shoulder.

Defence lawyer Laura Stevens asked Marshall, "The hand holding the muzzle was clearly in reach of the person wearing the jacket?"

Marshall responded that it would have been.

Stevens also asked how much pressure was needed on the trigger to fire the gun.

Marshall said it would take between seven and 10 pounds of pressure to pull the trigger, slightly more than it would to open a can of pop.

Cpl. Trevor Knopp, a crime scene specialist with the Edmonton RCMP, also testified, telling the court how he and other officers combed over the crime scene after Worden's body was removed. He said blood had seeped five centimetres into the ground where Worden's body had laid.

With the help of other RCMP officers, Knopp found four shells and a pair of handcuffs, one side of which were open.

Three of the shells were found close to where the body had been.

Bulatci kept his eyes forward during court proceeding. During breaks in the trial, Bulatci, who stands a little over five feet tall, spoke with his family in Turkish from the glassed-in prisoner's box.

The Crown plans to call its final two witnesses on Monday, one of whom is the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Worden's body. The defence will likely begin its case on Tuesday.