A Riverside man asked a former criminal lawyer the day before the alleged murder of Jake Anderson-Brettner where he would dispose of a body if he needed to, a Supreme Court jury in Launceston heard on Thursday.
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Adrian Hall gave evidence in the murder trial of Jack Harrison Vincent Sadler who has pleaded not guilty.
The Crown alleges Mr Sadler shot Mr Anderson-Brettner three times before beheading and dismembering him at his Dion Crescent home on August 15, 2018.
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Sadler and his partner Gemma Clark disposed of Mr Anderson Brettner's body in a manner suggested in the rap song Dead Body Disposal.
Mr Hall said Mr Sadler texted him requesting a meeting and they met at the Star Bar for about three hours on August 14.
"We discussed a number of old [criminal] cases and in the midst of that he asked if a person was a missing person would they stay a missing person until a body was found," Mr Hall said.
"I told him he was generally correct but I mentioned that in the case of [Hobart woman] Susan Neill-Fraser charges arose in a case when there was no body."
"Did he ask something else?" Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates SC asked.
"He asked if he wanted to dispose of a body where was a good place to put it," Mr Hall said.
Mr Hall said that he was unsure whether he or Mr Sadler raised the idea of disposing of a body down a mine shaft at Rossarden.
"I said generally it was often suggested that Rossarden was a good place to dispose of a body," he said.
Under cross examination by defence counsel Greg Richardson, Mr Hall said it was common for people to want to talk about criminal cases.
"Almost on a daily basis," he said.
Mr Hall said he mentioned a case of Sean Timothy Hudson who wrapped a body in a tarpaulin and dumped it and set it on fire.
"He didn't say he was intending to kill someone?" Mr Richardson asked.
"You can safely assume that wasn't discussed," Mr Hall replied.
When re-examined by Mr Coates, Mr Hall agreed that in his November 2018 statutory declaration he declared that Mr Sadler asked "if he [Sadler] did need to dispose of a body where was the best place to put it".
"I accept that was in my statement," he said.
Responding to Mr Richardson, Mr Hall said he had a number of alcoholic beverages.
"I can confirm discussion about disposal of a body but I can't be sure if he wanted to or it was general discussion," he said.
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