An Oklahoma landlord is facing a manslaughter charge after fatally shooting a squatter he found in one of his homes.

Timothy Smith, 59, opened fire on Justin King, 42, on his property in Oklahoma City on May 1 when he discovered he was illegally living there, police say.

Smith reportedly told police that he and his daughter checked on the home because the neighborhood had been having issues with homeless people in the past, and he wanted to ensure it was empty. 

Smith, who was not living in the home at the time, said he entered with a gun and confronted King when he found him in the back bedroom with a woman. 

When he ordered King to leave, Smith claimed that King stepped toward him, so he aimed 'at the area' of the squatter and pulled the trigger, per court records cited by KOCO. 

He hit King in the neck, and he was taken to hospital. He died a week later on May 8. 

Smith was initially arrested on charges of assault and battery with a deadly weapon. He was then charged with first-degree manslaughter after King died in hospital.

Smith has not yet entered a plea to the charges. He is being held at the Oklahoma County Detention Center. 

While he will not plead until his arraignment, which has not been scheduled, criminal defense attorney Ed Blau said he believes Smith may look to claim self-defense.

However, Blau, who is not representing Smith, said Oklahoma's Stand Your Ground laws may not apply to the landlord's case. 

The law - also known as the Castle Doctrine - allows people to use deadly force in self-defense, provided they are in a place they have a legal right to be in, are not breaking the law and reasonably believe lethal force is necessary to save them from serious injury or death. 

Blau said that while Oklahoma's laws would allow Smith to have shot King if he broke into his personal home, the case may be complicated by Smith not actively living in the property where the shooting took place. 

'There’s not the death penalty for squatting in the state of Oklahoma. You can’t just take a gun in and shoot somebody,' he told KOCO. 

'If a trespasser or a burglar breaks in or comes into your home that you live in and you’re there, you can pretty much shoot them or do whatever you want to with,' he said.

'And because of the Castle Doctrine here in Oklahoma, in a situation like this, an abandoned house, it’s much different. You can’t go in, put yourself in a situation and say, ‘This is my house, so I felt I had the right to shoot him.''

Police said Smith told investigators that he did not see any weapons in the room and was not directly threatened by King before he opened fire, and only said King 'stepped toward' him. 

Blau said this alleged confession may also complicate his case. 

'It would be difficult to have a stand your ground defense hold up,' he said. 'What’s going to make (a self-defense argument) difficult? He told the police that he didn’t see a weapon in the hand of the victim.'