A photo of an alleged drug dealer on a mobile phone is central to the motive for the killing of two people whose decomposed bodies were found in a toolbox in a lagoon, a court has heard.
Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao, Trent Michael Thrupp and Waylon Ngaketo Cowan Walker are charged with murdering drug dealers Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru at Kingston in Logan, south of Brisbane, on January 24, 2016.
Daniels, Taiao and Thrupp are also accused of torturing the pair on the same day.
The men pleaded not guilty to the murder and torture charges as a scheduled four-week trial began on Tuesday.
Thrupp pleaded guilty to Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru's manslaughter, but that plea wasn't accepted by the Crown.
A photograph of Daniels on Mr Breton's phone had raised suspicions in the days before the pair died, crown prosecutor David Meredith told the court in his opening on Tuesday.
A convenience store owner had sent Mr Breton the photo after inquiring of him who he bought drugs from.
Mr Meredith alleged Daniels became suspicious when told about the photo on Mr Breton's phone.
A witness is expected to tell the trial Daniels thought attempts were being made to set him up.
"The prosecution says that the motive for all of this was Daniels being suspicious of Cory Breton," Mr Meredith said.
It is alleged the victims were lured separately to a Kingston unit, assaulted and bound with tape before being put in the toolbox, Mr Meredith told the jury.
He said the box was put onto the back of a ute and dumped in Scrubby Creek.
Police divers found the bodies in the box - weighed down by concrete blocks and tyres at the bottom of the lagoon - on February 11.
They were so decomposed a pathologist could only conclude the pair died either from asphyxiation before being put into the water, or from drowning in the water.
Barristers for Daniels and Thrupp called on the jury to keep an open mind and pay close attention to the evidence of two people at the unit on the day Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were allegedly forced into the toolbox.
Thrupp's barrister Tony Kimmins said the two had earlier pleaded guilty to offences, had a substantial criminal history and proven problems with dishonesty.
"Look at these people with a magnifying glass," he said.
Australian Associated Press
