A Dublin man was stabbed 23 times and had acid poured on his face and hands so his body could not be identified, a Western Australian court has been told.
Mr Joseph Flanagan (35), who disappeared in May, was known in the Perth underworld as "Irish Joe" and was murdered after an argument over drugs. Three people, two men and a woman, have been charged with his murder.
Earlier this week Clinton James Horn (28) pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder. He confessed to assisting the alleged killer, Mr Kenneth Dawson Scott and his girlfriend, Ms Debbie Ann Wiley, to remove Mr Flanagan's body from the innercity flat where he was murdered, clean the scene, wrap his body in a carpet and help to bury it.
The Crown Prosecutor, Ms Raelene Johnston, told the district court that Horn and Mr Flanagan knew each other through their involvement in the drugs world. Ms Johnston said Horn owed Mr Flanagan money. Horn had earlier told police that Mr Flanagan had threatened him over the unpaid debt.
Describing the circumstances that led to Mr Flanagan's death, Ms Johnston said: "After consuming some drugs, Scott and the deceased became involved in an argument which then developed into a physical confrontation. Scott produced a hunting knife and commenced to repeatedly stab the deceased."
She said "The deceased died in that unit on the floor. All three then decided to dispose of the body and of any evidence relating to the killing. "They tied the body with towels and plastic cable ties and then cut the floor carpet and then rolled the body in the carpet.
"This offender, Horn, and Scott dug a shallow grave and buried the body, together with some towels and bloodstained clothing. They then poured acid over the face and hands of the deceased in an attempt to prevent later identification in the event that the body was discovered."
Horn escaped by driving to Queensland but handed himself in to police on June 7th, several weeks after the killing, and was extradited to Western Australia, the court was told.
Mr Mark Trowell, for the defence, asked that Horn be given a suspended jail term because he had shown remorse and was prepared to give evidence against the two others who are charged.
Horn will be sentenced tomorrow. Mr Scott and Ms Wiley have still to come before the courts.