A police officer saw "two little feet" under a pile of rubbish as he searched the home of missing man Stephen Newton, the trial of a man accused of three South Australian murders has been told.
Mildura man Steven Leslie Hainsworth, 49, is on trial in the SA Supreme Court charged with the murders of Phyllis Harrison, 71, at Elizabeth South in 1998, Beverley Hanley, 64, at Elizabeth North in 2010 and Stephen Newton, 55, at Mt Gambier in 2011.
Giving evidence on Thursday, retired police officer Derek Long said he went to Mr Newton's home on November 4, 2011 to follow up a missing person report.
He said that on the first of three occasions he visited the home that day, he entered through the back door, which was open. While searching the home, he noted that furniture had been overturned.
He uncovered child exploitation material and returned to the property twice later in the day to investigate further, he said.
Mr Long said there was a "strong stench" in the house and he "noticed a burn up the side of the wall in the bathroom".
"I looked down and saw what appeared to be hair and then I looked down and saw what appeared to be two little feet, a pair of socks on feet," he said.
"And that's when I had another look and it appeared that the body was hidden under the pile of rubbish that was in that alcove and I said to Sergeant Scott: 'At least we found the body now'."
At the start of the trial, prosecutor Amelia Cairney told the court Hainsworth was a drug user who targeted three vulnerable people who were living alone, and killed each of them violently and deliberately while searching for valuables to fund his habit.
Ms Cairney said Mr Newton was last seen alive on September 24, 2011 and his absence was not immediately noticed because he lived a "quiet, reclusive life".
She said attempts had been made to conceal physical evidence at his home, including green spray-paint on Mr Newton's body, and light switches and door handles.
"Mr Newton was killed by a number of heavy punches inflicted by the accused, who then went on to search his house and steal his property," Ms Cairney said.
The judge-alone trial before Justice Adam Kimber continues in Mt Gambier next week.
