A man has been found guilty of murder after he fatally shot his friend through the chest with a bow and arrow and disposed of his body in a ditch in Far North Queensland.
Joshua James Richards, 30, was on trial at the Supreme Court in Cairns, after pleading not guilty to the murder of 38-year-old roof labourer Dennis Beattie, from Cooya Beach, in October 2018.
He did plead guilty to interference with a corpse and arson.
The trial, which began last week, heard Richards, an experienced archer, shot Mr Beattie through the chest with an arrow and then dumped his body at the back of a cane farm near Mossman.
It followed an argument over a missing hunting knife and GoPro, which Richards believed Mr Beattie had stolen.
It took the jury just four hours of deliberation to find Richards guilty of murder.
Sitting in the dock at the Supreme Court in Cairns, Richards did not show any emotion as the verdict was read out.
His mother sat behind him and sobbed.
'We feel empty inside'
A victim impact statement from Mr Beattie's family was read to the court, detailing how Mr Beattie loved animals and used to volunteer at Australia Zoo on the Sunshine Coast, working alongside the late Steve Irwin.
His parents, Diane Beattie and Jim Pearson, wrote how they felt like their "heart had been ripped out" when their son was found dead.
"We both feel empty inside, like a part of us is missing," the statement said.
"We miss him so much."
In his opening statement earlier this week, crown prosecutor Nathan Crane told the court that at the time, Richards had become agitated because he was concerned Mr Beattie had taken his property.
Mr Crane said on October 17, 2018, Richards had attended Mr Beattie's home looking for the items, but he was not there.
The court heard Mr Beattie later went to Richards' residence, where the alleged altercation occurred.
Richards told Mr Beattie to go, and when he stayed, Richards took aim at his chest with the bow and arrow.
He released the arrow and it pierced Mr Beattie's heart. He died within minutes.
The court heard Richard's used his ute to drag Mr Beattie's body away before disposing of it in a ditch in a cane field, and then set his own ute on fire, to hide the evidence.
In sentencing, Justice James Henry noted Mr Beattie's body was not discovered for a week and was in an advanced state of decomposition, a situation he called "appalling".
"You were angry with him, you were obsessed, and in that split second moment when he made the decision to lunge at you, the reaction was 'stuff you'."
Richards was sentenced to life in prison.
