BELMONT low-level criminal and standover man Wade Still was twice set on fire - during separate attacks about an hour apart - by David McCauley, who left him to die by the side of a lonely stretch of road and then returned with another jerry can of fuel to finish him off.
Troy McCosker, 50, the man accused of driving McCauley back to Oakdale Road at Whitebridge so he could again set the 23-year-old on fire, appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to murder.
Mr McCosker, who is represented by solicitor Mark Hanlon, was committed for trial to the Sydney Supreme Court. He will next appear on December 6 to get a trial date. McCauley last month pleaded guilty to murder, admitting to what Mr Still had told first responders in a "dying declaration" - that he was the person responsible for setting him on fire.
Mr McCosker is alleged to have been in "constant conflict" with Mr Still in the lead-up to his death and was allegedly the target of standover tactics from the 23-year-old, which included a kidnapping, a home invasion and a number of threats.
McCauley, who witnesses said had a "love/hate relationship" with Mr Still, picked him up on his motorbike on the night of August 19, 2018, and the pair drove to a quarry on Oakdale Road.
It was there that McCauley set Mr Still on fire, before leaving on his motorbike.
Mr McCosker then allegedly picked McCauley up from a house at Dudley and they drove to another house and picked up a jerry can of fuel.
Mr McCosker and McCauley then allegedly returned to the quarry on Oakdale Road and McCauley got out of the car with the jerry can, according to a statement of police facts.
Detectives say Mr McCauley walked over to Mr Still, who was still alive but badly injured from the initial burns he suffered, doused him in petrol and again set him alight, triggering a small bush fire that later caught the eye of a passing taxi driver.
It was to that taxi driver and a firefighter who arrived on scene that Mr Still made his "dying declaration", repeatedly saying that "David McCauley did it".
Mr McCosker has denied any involvement in Mr Still's death.
He admitted to picking McCauley up and dropping him at the quarry, but denied hearing any screams.
