A woman has told a murder trial of seeing a man's body at her property before helping to stock a fire to burn his remains.
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The witness, who can't be identified, on Wednesday gave evidence in the trial of a man accused of murdering William Chaplin in Gerogery in 2010.
The man was a teenager when the killing allegedly occurred and can't be identified, along with an older man also allegedly involved.
The prosecution alleges Mr Chaplin was killed by the older man with help from the younger man, likely after Mr Chaplin witnessed a child sex offence.
The female witness said she had returned from Wodonga to the property one day in early 2010.
She said she had spoken to the older man earlier in the day and he said he "needed an hour to clean up some stuff".
She said the two men were there, the older man made jokes about it being a lovely day for sunbaking, and they walked to a round yard made of tyres that was used by horses.
The court heard there was a tarp with an obvious bulge which was pulled back.
"I saw William Chaplin laying there," she said, and added his eyes were open with a nick above his eye.
Prosecutor Paul Kerr asked if he appeared to be alive.
"No," she said.
The court heard a fire burnt for two to three days and she assumed the body was beneath it.
She said the incident was never discussed and she feared she would have been dead herself if she didn't help.
The witness said she was told not to speak to anyone.
Jurors were played intercepted phone calls between the younger man and female witness from 2019 as police investigated the matter.
The pair said they were surprised the incident was being looked at years later, with the man saying he'd forgotten about it.
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"If me and you keep it cool, alright, we should be right," he said.
"But we have to stick to each other."
The man said the ashes had been "scattered around the paddock".
"They'd be gone by now," he said.
"Long gone."
The witness asked the younger man why the older man involved him.
"I don't know," he said.
"I think he was going to do me.
"He wanted me to do you."
The younger man said he hadn't been questioned.
"If they had anything, they'd come get me now," he said.
"They've got nothing, they're just looking."
But he believed someone was "probably squawking".
The trial continues.
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