Court hears evidence of murdered chef’s double life
A court has been told that a chef brutally murdered in his Brisbane home was being pursued over around $10,000 in drug debts.
Brisbane Supreme Court was told the body of Peter Milos was found on the floor of a house at Morningside on May 6, 2014. He had been dead for about two days.
Milos, 26, who grew up in Maroochydore and trained locally before becoming co-owner of fine dining Brisbane restaurant Mariosarti, was found face down at the premises, the court heard.
His head was caved in and blood was spattered all over the walls.
The alleged killer James Thomas Howell was, the court heard, one of the chef’s drug clients.
Howell has pleaded not guilty to the charge that he used a builder’s spirit level and hammer to bludgeon the skull of Mr Milos.
Prosecutor Glen Cash QC told the jury there would be evidence that Mr Milos was a drug user and dealer, and that he was being pursued for significant drug debts at the time of his death.
Some of the evidence will be circumstantial - a text message sent from Mr Milos to Mr Howell, DNA evidence found on cigarette butts at the scene and video footage from a nearby train station and a fast food outlet which allegedly puts Howell in the area at the time of the murder.
The court was told Howell was a customer of Mr Milos, and that CCTV cameras had picked him up walking near the house on the afternoon of May 4.
While there were no witnesses to the brutal attack, police had found a bag belonging to Mr Milos at Howell's house.
Howell’s defence lawyer Jeff Hunter QC said there was no evidence of any blood splatter on Howell's clothing. Furthermore, police were unable to find the dark shirt Howell was wearing in CCTV footage around the time of the attack.
Mr Hunter told the jury to consider whether there were others with a strong motive to kill Mr Milos, not his client.
The trial continues.
by Leon Gettler, February 8th 2017
