As the trial of Mr Gale for Mr Ingham's murder continued in the Burnie Supreme Court, footage was shown of the man in bushland at Dulverton the week before Noel Ingham's headless corpse was found buried nearby.

Mr Ingham was reported missing in early October 2016, and police began investigating Mr Gale in the following weeks, Detective Sergeant John Rafferty said.

The pair lived together at West Ulverstone when Mr Ingham was last seen, and the court heard police seized Mr Gale's vehicle for forensic examination on October 17.

Detective Sergeant Rafferty said a tracker was then planted on the vehicle, and once returned to Mr Gale's possession it was recorded visiting the Dulverton bushland twice before the end of October.

He said police first visited the area in early November and found household items matching those which neighbours had seen Mr Gale remove from the West Ulverstone unit in previous months.

Three covert video cameras were then installed at the site, and in the weeks that followed footage was captured of a man who appeared to be Mr Gale, jurors saw.

While installing the cameras at the site, Constable Daniel Walton had previously told the court he found a mobile phone in the bushland which proved to have "investigative value".

Detective Sergeant Rafferty told the court he realised the phone may belong to Mr Ingham, as it contained text messages from Mr Gale.

The court has previously heard Mr Gale told neighbours and police Mr Ingham had gone to Hobart for medical testing in the weeks since he was last seen in July 2016, and the text messages appeared to reflect that.

However, crown prosecutors have alleged Mr Gale had Mr Ingham's phone during that time and was feigning a conversation between the two to make it appear Mr Ingham was still alive.

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