One of three teenagers charged with murdering a Canberra auctioneer said the trio planned to only "intimidate" him because they had "word of mouth" but "no concrete evidence" he was an alleged paedophile, a court has heard.
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Canberra auctioneer Peter Keeley, 56, was found dead in bushland near a beach at Broulee, about 20km south of Batemans Bay in February 2020.
The three accused murderers, 17 at the time of the death, are now before the NSW Supreme Court with two facing the opening day of their joint trial on Monday.
The pair pleaded not guilty to murder and guilty to kidnapping Mr Keeley to assault him and thereby causing actual bodily harm.
The court heard one of the accused and Mr Keeley exchanged messages on dating app Grindr the day before his death.
Played during the trial was a recorded police interview with another accused who told investigators the trio planned to only scare Mr Keeley "because we were all under the impression he was a paedophile".
"I sort of just got wrapped up into it," he said.
"I was just in shock for a lot of it."
When asked about his impression of Mr Keeley, the now 20-year-old said it was via "word of mouth" but that there was "no concrete evidence".
"I don't think there was any intention to kill him," the accused said.
"Intimidate, I guess is the word."
He said he saw Mr Keeley on the ground only towards the end "of everything so I just left" and that he did not touch him.
However, after further questioning, he said he rolled Mr Keeley onto his side and saw tape only around his legs, as well as hearing him groaning.
He said he did not look at Mr Keeley's face because "it would've just haunted me" before later saying he did see tape around his head.
The accused said he did not dislike homosexuals and only paedophiles because the latter were "just bad people".
The investigator said the 56-year-old was bashed based on the bruising and marks on his face, and that someone had cut the tape around his head because he must have been struggling to breathe.
"Something probably happened that wasn't supposed to happen," the investigator said.
The accused said he agreed to be part of the "sketchy" plan to support one of his co-accused and went to the site to check.
"It just didn't cross my mind he [Mr Keeley] would've been dead," he said.
Asked about how he felt when he heard about the death, the accused said he felt "terrible" and that he started to cry.
At the end of the interview, the teen's father, who was supporting him, said his son was a "good kid" and that this was the "first time he's ever been trouble".
"Honest to God, I just can't work it out," the father said.
Earlier in the hearing, the court heard the major issue was causation.
Crown prosecutor Nerissa Keay said in her opening that the case against the two on trial was that their assault was the "foundational offence" to murder.
Ms Keay said they were also relying on Dr Bernard I'Ons' autopsy report.
Defence lawyer Clive Steirn SC said Dr I'Ons' opinion was "not soundly based and the court would reject it or alternatively at least entertain considerable doubt" about his findings.
Mr Steirn said another set of findings by medical Professor Johan Duflou found that the cause of death "could reasonably be the result of methamphetamine toxicity".
Carolyn Davenport SC, defence lawyer for the teen whose police interview was played, did not make an opening statement.
The court also heard from a digital forensics investigator, who gave evidence about how they used a health app on the phone of one the accused to determine key movements, timing and locations.
Police also used the digital data to re-construct the routes and movements, including to the crime scene, which was video recorded and played to the court.
The discovery of Mr Keeley's body as recorded by a witness, and from a police body-worn camera, were also played.
The trial, with his family watching, continues. The third teen will face trial at another date.
