Man locked in box, cut into pieces: court

A man was abducted and locked in a metal box before his body was cut into pieces and dumped in a northern NSW river, a jury has been told.
Terry Falconer's dismembered remains were discovered inside six packages, wrapped in blue plastic and bound with duct tape and wire, in the Hastings River in November 2001.
Matthew Robert Lawton, 42, and Anthony John Michael Perish, 41, have pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Falconer and conspiring to murder him.
Perish's younger brother, Andrew Michael Perish, 40, has denied a charge of conspiracy to murder.
Crown prosecutor Paul Leask said on Monday in his opening address of the NSW Supreme Court trial the three accused had entered into an agreement that Mr Falconer would somehow be murdered.
Mr Leask said the motive for the crime arose from a belief Mr Falconer was responsible for the 1993 shooting murder of the Perish brothers' grandparents on their property at Leppington in Sydney's outer west.
Numerous rumours were circulating and Andrew Perish was so convinced he went to police.
Then, in August 2001, Mr Falconer's wife showed him a police document, which indicated her husband's preparedness to become a police informant.
Two months later "a firm plan" had been agreed upon to kill Mr Falconer, Mr Leask said.
In a meeting at a restaurant in the inner Sydney suburb of Newtown, the brothers met with another man to discuss the disposal of the body.
Anthony Perish allegedly arranged to dress as a fisherman, saying: "There will be a couple of eskies because the c*** will be in pieces."
Mr Leask said jurors would hear evidence that Mr Falconer was on work leave from Silverwater prison when he was abducted by three men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, posing as police officers.
He was handcuffed and his face covered with a rag soaked in what appeared to be chloroform.
The abductors locked Mr Falconer inside a large metal box and one of the men transported him, unconscious, to a house at Turramurra in Sydney's north, Mr Leask said.
Lawton and Anthony Perish confirmed Mr Falconer's identity and the box was placed on a ute bound for Girvan, north of Newcastle, a trip which took some hours.
On arrival, the man was dead, Mr Leask said.
The crown allege Mr Falconer's teeth were smashed to conceal his identity before Lawton, Anthony Perish and a third man cut up his body.
He was allegedly suspended above the floor of a shed with a block and tackle, and police later found a number of rusted items including saw blades, a broken hammer and blue plastic, the court heard.
Carolyn Davenport SC, for Anthony Perish, said her client had only wanted to question Mr Falconer over his grandparents' death. Panicking when Mr Falconer arrived dead, Anthony Perish decided to hide his involvement in the abduction and contacted Lawton. They dismembered the body, Ms Davenport said.
Stephen Hanley SC, for Lawton, said his client had been called to the property by Anthony Perish and he could not have been involved in the murder because Mr Falconer was already dead when he arrived.
Winston Terracini SC, for Andrew Perish, said the prime witness against his client had "zero credibility" and was completely unreliable.
The trial, before Justice Derek Price, is expected to last up to six weeks.