A Supreme Court jury has found Paul Anthony Watson guilty of murdering Gerogery man William Chaplin in 2010.
The remains of the then 25-year-old were discovered burnt and buried in a shallow grave in the yard of Watson's Gerogery property in 2019, almost a decade after he was last seen.
Prosecutor Paul Kerr built a case that Watson murdered Mr Chaplin after discovering him sexually assaulting his two-year-old daughter.
Although others were believed to be involved in the disposal of the body, in closing submissions, Mr Kerr said that Watson was not an accessory but decided when, where and how Mr Chaplin would be killed.
"Make no mistake about this, Paul Watson is a murderer," he said in his closing remarks.
"He is a killer trying to hide between lies and falsehoods."
Defence lawyer John Agius argued witnesses implicating Watson in the murder lied to protect a younger man co-accused of the crime. He cannot be named as he was a minor at the time.
Multiple confessions
During the trial at the NSW Supreme Court, the jury heard evidence from several witnesses who claimed Watson confessed to killing Mr Chaplin on multiple occasions.
Mr Chaplin's remains were discovered after Sacha Priest, a fellow prison inmate sharing a cell with Watson while he was serving a sentence for an unrelated matter, reported a conversation the pair had previously had.
Mr Priest and Watson became friends after discovering they were both members of the Jehovah's Witness community.
He gave evidence that Watson confided in him shortly after meeting, confessing to burning a body on his property after killing a man who threatened his family.
Mr Priest eventually reported the confession to a prison officer, which ultimately led to an investigation and the discovery of Mr Chaplin's remains.
Another witness, who can't be named for legal reasons, said he had visited Watson's home to play video games when Watson told him he killed Mr Chaplin because of an assault on his daughter.
Burning the body
Watson's estranged wife Samone told the court she was living at the Gerogery property with her husband and the younger man at the time of the murder but was not home when it happened.
She said when she arrived home the following day, Watson led her to the yard and showed her Mr Chaplin's lifeless body.
"He asked me if I wanted to see something and naturally, not knowing what I was being taken out to see, said, 'Yes', and started following," she said while giving evidence.
"When I first got to the round yard, there was a blue tarp on the ground. When we got closer to the tarp Paul had pulled it back to the chest, and I could see [William Chaplin] laying there."
Ms Watson admitted to helping build the bonfire that was used to burn the body.
She told police she did not report the incident earlier because she was afraid she would "end up the same way [as Mr Chaplin]".
"I was scared of Paul Watson, and I still am scared of Paul Watson," she said during the trial.
Another witness, who was a minor at the time, said he had been at the property the night of the bonfire.
In a statement given to police during the investigation, he said he saw Watson light a trail of petrol to start the fire.
In his evidence, he said Watson admitted to creating a diversion that night while they were standing around the bonfire so he would not see Watson kicking a boot into the flames.
After deliberating on Tuesday, the jury handed down its verdict.
Watson will return to the Supreme Court for sentencing in December.
