A New South Wales murder trial has heard shocking details of how a man was seriously beaten as he visited a homeless friend underneath a Queanbeyan bridge on Boxing Day in 2019.
Aaron Baxter died in hospital from a ruptured spleen later that day.
On Monday, Alan William Delaney, 53, faced trial in the NSW Supreme Court, accused of his murder.
Prosecutors say they will rely on text messages, Facebook posts and the accounts of witnesses to the bashing.
One witness, Joseph Weiwiti, told the court that Mr Baxter had come to see him as he cooked breakfast under Queens Bridge in Queanbeyan.
Mr Weiwiti said he was homeless and living in his car at the time.
The court heard he had been cooking two-minute noodles when the pair heard Mr Delaney approaching and yelling abuse.
Mr Weiwiti repeated the threats to the court.
"'I'm going to f***ing kill you,'" he said Mr Delaney had threatened.
"'You are a dead c***.'"
Mr Weiwiti said Mr Delaney had also made accusations about Mr Baxter.
"You told my missus you were taking me to a brothel," Mr Delaney reportedly said.
Mr Weiwiti told the court he then saw Mr Baxter's head hit a concrete wall several times as he was punched by Mr Delaney.
He said that later, as Mr Baxter tried to escape, Mr Delaney kneed him under the ribs more than once, before telling Mr Baxter to "get down to the river now so I can f***ing drown you".
Police arrived after reports of the fight and found Mr Baxter unconscious.
Detective Senior Constable Dean James told the court that, at one point, Mr Baxter rolled onto his side and groaned.
"He did not look well at all," he told the court.
The officer said he heard later in the morning that Mr Baxter had died in hospital.
Mr Delaney's lawyers have told the jury they must consider what caused Mr Baxter's death and whether Mr Delaney intended to kill him.
The trial is expected to run for a week.
