A man who "had a talent for making ice" and his girlfriend were murdered after his drug boss suspected he staged a break-in at his Sydney meth lab, a Supreme Court jury has heard.
Dung Thi Ngo, 42, and Kevin Ly, 27, are each charged with two counts of murder after the bodies of Son Thanh Nguyen and Thi Kim Lien Do were found wrapped in bedspreads and dumped in Bankstown and West Hoxton respectively.
Both were allegedly murdered on April 10, 2013, but Ms Do's decomposed body wasn't found for nine months.
In his opening address, crown prosecutor Ken Gilson said the jury would hear evidence Ngo - who headed an illicit drug group - suspected Mr Nguyen staged a break-in at the Canley Vale house she had leased for him that year to set up a meth lab.
"Sonny Nguyen had a talent for making ice," the prosecutor said.
Ngo allegedly instructed others in her group to "lure" Mr Nguyen back to the lab and pressure him into owning up to the crystal methamphetamine theft.
"They weren't told at that stage there was any trouble brewing," Mr Gilson said of the couple's return home.
He said a man at the house is expected to testify Ngo told Mr Nguyen to "go out back and meet your new partner" before Ly and two men ran at him, while another assailant carrying a long kitchen knife ran after Ms Do.
Ly was seen putting a clear plastic hose around Mr Nguyen's neck and eventually "the two of them ended up with their backs to each other" and the victim was lifted off the ground, the prosecutor said.
A wet cloth was put over his mouth and eventually he "stopped struggling and his eyes rolled back", he said.
A Crown witness is expected to testify Ngo told Mr Nguyen "if he returned the drugs, Lien Do would stay alive" but he continued to declare his innocence despite being held at gunpoint.
Ngo allegedly instructed Ly and a compatriot to "just do it" and handed over a large sum of money in a plastic case before leaving the property.
"Ly personally manually strangled Sonny Nguyen," Mr Gilson said.
He said it was unclear when Ms Do was murdered that night, as no one witnessed her death, but she had denied knowing about any theft and pleaded for her life.
The prosecutor said Ngo is "equally liable" for the murders as she encouraged Ly to kill each victim.
Ngo's barrister Ken Averre said there's no issue the couple were "unlawfully killed" but the "principal" trial issue is whether his client gave any order or made any request to their deaths.
The trial continues before Justice Geoffrey Bellew.
Australian Associated Press
