Two men accused of burning a 21-year-old to death over his life savings have been found guilty of murder.
Shivneel Kumar, 20, and Bryne Permal, 22, have spent nearly a month on trial in the High Court at Auckland over the death of Shalvin Prasad, whose smouldering body was found on a rural South Auckland road on the morning of January 31, 2013.
This afternoon the jury returned guilty verdicts for the pair after around 20 hours of deliberation across three days.
On January 30, the victim withdrew $30,050 -- in $100 and $50 bills -- from a Manukau bank at the request of Kumar, who waited outside.
Crown prosecutor Aaron Perkins said the pair "considered a sum of money was worth more than Mr Prasad's life".
Despite them both being charged with murder, he fingered Kumar as "the instigator and driving force" behind the crime.
He said on the night of January 30, Mr Prasad met the two defendants and was driven through south Auckland.
The Crown said the victim was assaulted at an unknown location and bundled into the boot of Permal's mother's car, driven by Kumar.
The defendants then bought 15 litres of petrol, using the stolen money, before driving to McRobbie Rd in Kingseat, where they doused the victim in petrol and set him alight.
Medical witnesses gave evidence that Mr Prasad was conscious when the fire was ignited.
In the days after the murder, Kumar spent thousands of dollars on his car and paying off various debts and on February 2 he and Permal went shopping together.
Store records showed they got tattoos, watches and t-shirts totalling nearly $2000.
Large sums were also deposited into bank accounts linked to Kumar.
The 21-year-old's charred remains were found early the next day by a woman walking her dog.
The men were remanded in custody and will be sentenced in ???
They will both be jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of at least 10 years.
By Rob Kidd of NZME. News Service
