Vic man high on ice during fatal shooting

A man was high on ice when a sawn-off shotgun he was holding discharged, blasting a woman in the face and killing her instantly, a court has heard.

Sarah Johnson-Portelli, 20, was shot at close range as she sat with three friends using ice in the bedroom of a home in St Albans, in Melbourne's northwest, on April 6, 2013.

One of the four, Jovan Jojic, now 24, has been charged with her manslaughter.

His trail began in the Supreme Court on Monday.

Prosecutor Mark Rochford QC told the court that Jojic was holding the shotgun when it discharged.

"Our evidence will be that Mr Jojic, as were the others in the room, was using the drug ice and was under the influence of it when it discharged," Mr Rochford said.

He said the incident was unintentional but that Jojic's actions were unlawful and dangerous.

Defence barrister Wayne Toohey said Jojic was not holding the shotgun and was at the kitchen sink when the fatal shot rang out in the bedroom.

Mr Toohey said Jojic saw one of the prosecution witnesses, Emilijah Dilber, leaving the bedroom after the second shot, which wounded a second witness, who cannot be named.

He said Ms Dilber fled the house and Jojic followed shortly after.

Jojic is on bail.

The trial, before Justice Michael Croucher, continues.