Phillip Harris murder trial: Grim details emerge of Peter Weaver’s death alongside loyal dog

‘I’ll lay it out’: A Toowoomba man has pleaded not guilty to the alleged murder of his neighbour, with a jury at his trial told that the man made a surprising admission to police.

Phillip Alastair Harris to stand trial for the alleged murder of Peter Weaver which allegedly occurred in Mr Weaver’s Toowoomba home in December 2019.

“We have a problem.”

A jury was told those were the words of a Toowoomba firefighter who spotted a pair of dismembered legs near a dead dog in first level of a Rivett St home while battling an intense house fire.

Crown prosecutor Nicole Friedewald told the jury when the firefighter went up a flight of stairs inside the South Toowoomba home after 8pm on December 15, 2019, he found a dismembered head, arms, and a torso.

The Crown alleges Phillip Alastair Harris stabbed his neighbour Peter Weaver 32 times in a bedroom before dragging the man’s body into a bathroom and using a circular hand saw to dismember it.

He then set fire to Mr Weavers’ home.

Toowoomba man Phillip Alastair Harris was charged with the murder of Peter Weaver who was found dead in a fire at his Rivett St house in 2019.

Mr Harris, who has been in custody since his arrest on the night of the incident, pleaded not guilty before a jury in Toowoomba Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 19 to murder.

Mr Harris also pleaded not guilty to interfering with a body and the unlawful and wilful killing of a dog, however he did plead guilty to arson.

The movements and behaviour of Mr Harris in the minutes and hours after the alleged murder and dismemberment were heard in court during Ms Friedewald’s opening address.

The court was told while firefighters and police worked to contain the blaze and evacuated nearby residents, a topless Mr Harris sipped on a beer with a group of concerned neighbours.

Mr Harris also spoke with officers at the scene and had to be asked to move on twice.

Police and fire investigators at a South Toowoomba crime scene following a fatal house fire in Rivett St, Tuesday, December 17, 2019. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The court was told when police began door knocking the area, Mr Harris told officers he had been home all evening and supplied them with CCTV from his home.

Police also obtained footage from the dashboard camera of Mr Harris’ ute shortly before he was arrested at his home, which was around the corner from Mr Weaver.

When interviewed by police the following day, officers challenged Mr Harris’ version of events as footage showed him leaving his home and going to Mr Weaver’s home at incriminating time intervals. The court was told Mr Harris told officers, “all right this is where I’m in trouble – I’ll lay it out for you”.

Police and fire investigators at the crime scene following the fatal house fire on Monday, December 16, 2019. Picture: Kevin Farmer

The jury was told Mr Weaver told officers he went to Mr Weaver’s home to buy the man’s prescription Xanax but instead, he found the man and dog dead.

He said he set the fire because he didn’t want to be wrongfully connected to the crime scene.

The Crown alleged months before the alleged murder Mr Harris broke into Mr Weaver’s home, assaulted him, and set fire to his air conditioner.

The trial before Justice Thomas Bradley is expected to run for 10 days.

Originally published as Phillip Harris murder trial: Grim details emerge of Peter Weaver’s death alongside loyal dog