A man who assaulted and tortured Bradley Breward to death over a stolen car has been found guilty of murder.
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Mark Rodney Jones showed little emotion when the Launceston Supreme Court jury handed down the unanimous verdict after two hours and 10 minutes on the eighth day of the trial, but he bowed his head and wiped away tears after the jury left the courtroom.
His partner Rebecca Bailey shook her head in disbelief and whispered "no, no, no" when the verdict was announced.
Jones, of West Launceston, had been looking for Mr Breward over the theft of his stolen Nissan Patrol in December 2016, putting a $1000 bounty on Mr Breward's head and offering a $5000 reward for the return of the car.
THE TRIAL
The uninsured Patrol was stolen from Westbury Road where it was parked to promote it being for sale.
Social media posts and flyers were distributed about the stolen car, leading to a number of people telling the 43-year-old that Mr Breward was responsible for the theft.
Tina Robertson, who was in a relationship with Mr Breward's friend Cody Lee, told the murderer the victim was asleep on her boyfriend's couch on New Year's Day in 2017.
The court heard Ms Robertson was upset with Mr Breward after he insinuated she'd had sex with another man, so she left her boyfriend's Newnham unit and called Jones.
The killer and his employee Ricky Izard went to the unit to get information out of Mr Breward about the stolen Patrol.
But the victim did not disclose anything about the stolen car, making Jones angry.
Mr Breward was punched, kicked, waterboarded and had a plastic bag wrapped over his head by Jones.
After being bashed and starved of oxygen, Mr Breward told Jones he was dying.
But Jones didn't believe Mr Breward, placed the bag over the victim's head and counted to 40.
Mr Breward was blue when the bag was removed, so Jones, Izard and Mr Lee attempted to give him CPR.
When Mr Breward didn't regain consciousness his body was wrapped in a beanbag and tarpaulin, and put in the back of Jones' car.
Jones and Izard went to Mowbray Woolworths to buy Mr Lee cleaning products and food because Jones thought it "was the right thing to do".
Desperate to get rid of Mr Breward's body and avoid being charged with murder, Jones drove around Lilydale for three hours looking for a mineshaft to dump the body.
THE TRIAL
- DAY 4 AM: Jury visits unit where Bradley Breward allegedly killed
- DAY 4 PM: Mark Jones and two other men tried to give Bradley Breward CPR
- DAY 5 AM: Bradley Breward's injuries detailed by forensic pathologist
- DAY 5 PM: Mark Jones didn't leave unit in fear of looking like a 'goose'
- DAY 6: Prosecutor says jury can be satisfied Mark Jones guilty of murder
- DAY 7: Alternative verdict of manslaughter offered to jury
After failing to find it, Jones and Izard went to Launceston Kmart to buy a raft and stopped at a Latrobe house to pick up 35-kilograms of weight plates that the former bodybuilder had borrowed to a friend.
Electrical cord and rope were used to wrap the plates like a harness around Mr Breward's body before using the raft to move his body into the water at Lake Eugenana.
Also known as Melrose Quarry, the lake was somewhere Jones had spent a lot of time as a child growing up at Forth, so he knew the area well.
Jones and Izard changed their clothes after dumping the body and drove to a friend's house at George Town to burn everything that could potentially have DNA on it, including the raft and Mr Breward's clothes.
Jones told police he went to such great lengths to dispose of Mr Breward's body because he didn't want to get caught.
"I got a baby boy ... he needs a dad. I didn't want to lose my life," the killer said.
"I've destroyed my life."
Jones admitted to police he didn't know if Mr Breward was actually responsible for the car theft.
The killer was remanded to reappear before Justice Robert Pearce for sentencing submissions on July 4.
Izard pleaded guilty on June 11 to the manslaughter of Mr Breward.
The 28-year-old South Launceston man will appear in the Supreme Court for sentencing on July 1.