Vic man shot partner 'to protect himself'

A Melbourne man shot his partner dead because he feared she was trying to kill him or his father, a court has been told.

Phillip Paul Bracken, 46, has pleaded not guilty to murdering his de facto, Helen Curtis, 58, in West Footscray in November 2012.

The Victorian Supreme Court was told on Thursday Bracken repeatedly shot Ms Curtis after intervening in an argument between her and his father Michael Bracken.

Crown Prosecutor Peter Rose SC said Phillip Bracken shot Ms Curtis as she lay the on the ground in front of his father's house.

He said it had been a deliberate killing.

"The accused pointed the gun at her and shot her five times," he said.

Defence barrister Ruth Shann asked the jury to consider whether her client was afraid Ms Curtis was going to kill or seriously harm him or his father.

"How did she appear to him in that moment?" she said.

Ms Shann said the gun was taken from Ms Curtis' car, which she had driven to Bracken's parents' house.

"What's she doing with a gun at Michael Bracken's house? What was she intending to do?"

Footage of the shooting from a neighbour's CCTV camera was played to the court.

Ms Shann said the case was not just about what the footage showed, but about the couple's four-year relationship.

"Did she abuse him, control him, harass him, intimidate him, smash things up around the house, make threats about his family?" she said.

The trial before Justice Chris Maxwell continues.