An aspiring rapper who was "drifting" through a period of drug use and homelessness has been found guilty of murdering a man who offered a roof over his head.
Coskun Jaques Marius, 30, in November pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court to the manslaughter of Tane Tahi Manawa, 38, at the victim's Surfers Paradise home on May 10, 2019.
Marius pleaded not guilty to murder on the grounds of having an abnormality of the mind at the time, and the matter was taken to trial over the past two weeks.
Mr Manawa was repeatedly hit over the head with a metal bar from a home gym while he slept in a reclining armchair, causing major facial and head injuries that led to his death about 45 minutes after the attack.
Barrister Lars Falcongreen, acting for Marius, had earlier told the jury that the only real issue in the trial was deciding whether his client had diminished responsibility for Mr Manawa's death due to having "psychotic delusions".
Marius, who testified in his own defence, said he heard voices from an alter-ego called Si3ge who had emerged during childhood as a way to cope with schoolyard bullying and took over his actions when he got angry.
Crown prosecutor Michael Lehane told the jury that some of the most qualified psychiatrists in Queensland had dismissed Si3ge as the "stuff of Hollywood" or a product of Marius's unexpressed aggression.
Mr Lehane said Marius had made up allegations that Mr Manawa was a serial rapist in an attempt to justify his frenzied attack that was actually for spiteful reasons such as the victim refusing to share food or making Marius feel belittled.
"Coskun Jaques Marius, CJ Marius and Si3ge are one person, who murdered a defenceless man as he slept," Mr Lehane said.
After spending about two hours deliberating on Thursday, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on the count of murder.
Marius did not visibly react to the sentence and some of Mr Manawa's supporters gasped and cried out in the public gallery.
When asked if he wanted to say anything as to why a sentence should not be passed upon him, Marius said "no".
Mr Lehane asked for a brief adjournment so Justice Glenn Martin could consider other prior indictments against Marius, including for armed robbery and grievous bodily harm via causing a woman to overdose by injecting her with methamphetamine.
"The argument ultimately will be as to whether the parole eligibility of the usual 20 (years) should be elevated," Mr Lehane said.
Justice Martin adjourned the sentencing until Friday morning.
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