The Supreme Court trial of a Victorian man accused of murdering a Mount Gambier resident and two other people over a 13-year period began in Adelaide on Tuesday.
Steven Leslie Hainsworth is standing trial accused of murdering his neighbour Phyllis Harrison, 71, his aunt Beverley Hanley, 64, and Mount Gambier pensioner Stephen Newton, 55, between 1998 and
2011.
He has pleaded not guilty and Justice Adam Kimber is conducting the trial in the absence of a jury.
Crown prosecutor Amelia Cairney told the court in her opening remarks that each of Mr Hainsworth’s alleged victims were killed in a “violent and deliberate manner”.
Ms Cairney said the third alleged victim, Mr Newton, was killed at his Mount Gambier home in September 2011, two months before his body was discovered covered in rubbish and debris, in November the same year.
According to Ms Cairney, a DNA profile matching Mr Hainsworth was allegedly found at the home of Mr Newton.
The trial continues.