Murder-accused claims he never meant to kill

There was an admission on the first day of the trial for man accused of killing Marcus Luke Tucker, whose body was found bound, burnt and dumped on the roadside near Lake Ellesmere in 2016.

Fifty-two-year-old Peter John Carroll, charged with murder, concedes he inflicted fatal blows on Tucker - but his lawyers told the court he never intended to kill him.

Nicknamed 'Rukus', the 36-year-old's body was found wrapped in carpet, with his wrists and ankles bound near the water's edge of Lake Ellesmere on Anzac Day last year.

Crown prosecutor Claire Boshier told the court Carroll bashed Mr Tucker with a steering lock while he was in bed. He died as a result of blunt force injuries to his head including a broken nose, fractured eye socket broken teeth and a broken shoulder blade.

Mr Tucker's body was then put in the boot of Carroll's car and driven to multiple Canterbury properties before being burnt and dumped near Lake Ellesmere.

Mr Tuckers body was discovered by three fisherman mid-morning on Anzac Day, who initially thought it was a mannequin. None of them had a cell phone so they went to the Hornby police station. A nearby farmer made the same discovery and called police.

The Crown says the death was a case of mistaken identity - a man known to Carroll had been robbed of methamphetamine and ecstasy worth $10,000.

Defence lawyer Andrew Bailey told the court Carroll admits he committed the brutal beating, but he denies that he ever intended to murder him.

"He accepts he assaulted, he accepts he used the steering lock to assault him... and he accepts those injuries led to the death of Mr Tucker."

The Crown will call 47 witnesses during the murder trial, which is expected to last two-and-a-half weeks.

Newshub.