A KILLER who blasted his best friend with a sawn-off shotgun when they fell out on a fishing trip is facing 15 years behind bars.

That was the minimum term a judge recommended that Christopher Walker should serve before being considered for parole.

The 23-year-old, of Weatherly Close, Rochester, tried to cover his tracks after twice shooting Mark Potts at close range and dumping his body in the River Medway.

But the body was washed up just over a month later at Thunderbolt Pier at the Historic Dockyard at Chatham, and Walker was soon arrested.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that Walker and Mr Potts, also 23, were at school together in Basildon, Essex. They lost contact and met up again in 2003.

At the beginning of last year, Walker arranged for Mr Potts to visit him at his home where he lived with his stepmother, Nicola Walker.

Christopher Kinch, QC, prosecuting, said after a few visits, Mr Potts moved in. “The two young men became close friends and spent a great deal of time in each other’s company,” he said.

Mrs Walker was to describe them as being “joined at the hip”. Mr Potts was outgoing, while Walker was introverted.

Mr Kinch said there was one alarming incident when Walker brandished a shotgun in front of his stepmother. He had become upset about her calling her ex-boyfriend, who he did not approve of.

He was extremely agitated but calmed down with the help of Mr Potts. Walker later apologised to Mrs Walker and said he had got rid of the gun.

Mr Kinch said the weapon and cartridges had been found in a Portakabin in Strood when Walker and Potts had gone there to steal a quad bike. They tested it to see if it worked.

Walker and Mr Potts went fishing in the Medway at the end of Blue Boar Lane on March 15 last year. “Why the shotgun went with them is something of a mystery,” said the prosecutor. “The defendant was to tell psychiatrists that Mark took it with him without his knowledge.

“The only account we have of what happened at the river comes from the defendant when asked about it by doctors.”

He told a doctor in October last year that Mr Potts had goaded him about his ex-girlfriend and contact with his daughter. As the argument continued, he said, he grabbed the gun and shot his friend just once.

He told another doctor that Mr Potts had been playing with the gun and talking about shooting people. Walker said he got angry and grabbed the gun.

“The investigation revealed that Mr Walker pointed the shotgun at his friend at what must have been very close range and fired one barrel into his chest and the second into his face,” said Mr Kinch.

It was on April 19 that a sailing instructor spotted the body floating face down and called the police. The decomposed body was identified from fingerprints.

Having pushed the body into the water, Walker threw away the 12-bore gun. Part of it was later found by the water’s edge. The victim’s baseball cap and a glove were also found.

Mr Kinch said Walker went home and laid a false trail. He told his stepmother that they split up after being disturbed while trying to start up a JCB digger.

After his arrest, Walker made no comment during interviews spread over three days, but later confessed to doctors.

He at first pleaded not guilty but last Monday admitted the charge.

Judge Andrew Patience, QC, said he accepted that Walker might have been provoked.

Sentencing Walker to life, he said he was entitled to credit for his guilty plea, but against that he had abandoned the body and left false trails. The mitigation and aggravation cancelled each other out, he added.

Family and friends of Mr Potts shouted: “Ten years too short” and “Not enough”.