A mobile phone being used as a torch has incidentally recorded an alleged murder that ended with the accused found naked on a castaway ship, a court has been told.
Benjamin Jack McLaughlin, 22, will face trial over a string of bizarre incidents near the small fishing town of Cervantes, about 200km north of Perth in September 2023.
A fisherman spotted a naked Mr McLaughlin acting erratically on a boat adrift in water off the Cervantes Jetty.
The accused ended up in the water and was rescued by a fisherman before he was taken into custody and given medical treatment.
Nearby, a small red car was submerged in water.
That same morning police discovered the human remains of John Matta inside a burnt-out white Mitsubishi Pajero that had been found ablaze off Indian Ocean Drive.
Mr McLaughlin pleaded not guilty to Mr Matta’s murder, casting away ships, arson and stealing a car in March this year.
At a Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday, Mr McLaughlin’s lawyer Christian Porter said they were waiting for a psych report to further understand any issues ahead of a trial set down for February next year.
Mr Porter told the court an unusual feature of the case was the axe that caused Mr Matta’s death was recorded on a mobile phone being used as a torch.
He said given the nature of the footage, there could be issues around mental illness.
Mr Porter said when his client was taken into custody his mental state was very poor and he remembered very little from the time.
Mr McLaughlin is set to face trial in the WA Supreme Court from February 8 next year.
