Two drug dealers fatally bashed their friend and cut up his body with a chainsaw, with one of them then keeping the head in his car for days, a Perth jury has heard.
Gary David Jackson, 51, is on trial in the WA Supreme Court accused of murdering 40-year-old Wade Cameron Dunn at the Alexander Heights home of Mark David Corbett in May last year.
Corbett has already pleaded guilty over Mr Dunn's death and will give evidence during the trial.
Prosecutor Laura Christian said in her opening address on Monday that the trio were all involved in drugs, mostly meth, and there was lots of lying, cheating and double-crossing between them.
She said Corbett had a $27,000 drug debt and Mr Dunn was lured to Corbett's house under the pretext of collecting the debt.
But when Mr Dunn arrived, he was beaten to death with a metal pole and his body was kept in Jackson's shed overnight.
Ms Christian said the victim was later cut into pieces with a chainsaw and dumped in bushland near Bindoon, northeast of Perth.
She said Jackson cut off Mr Dunn's hands because the victim had scratched him and he was worried about his DNA being under Mr Dunn's fingernails.
Jackson also kept Mr Dunn's head in his ute because he wanted a friend with a boat to get rid of it, but then someone noticed the smell.
Ms Christian said Corbett had taken police to the area where Mr Dunn was dumped, but his body has not been found.
Jackson is also accused of conspiring to pervert the course of justice after allegedly trying to stop Corbett from testifying.
Defence counsel David McKenzie said in his brief opening remarks that Jackson was innocent of both charges and was not involved in Mr Dunn's death in any way.
He asked the jury to keep an open mind and not jump to conclusions.
The trial continues.
- AAP