Craftsman Darryn Kruse was used to finding donations outside his Sunshine Coast shop, so when an electric saw showed up he again blessed the kindness of strangers.
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Little did he know "what the fairies brought me" could be central to a murder investigation.
Mr Kruse has given evidence in the trial of acquaintance Lindy Williams, who is accused of murdering her de facto George Gerbic, dumping his torso on the side of a road and setting it alight in September 2013.
Mr Kruse testified on Thursday he had seen Williams using one of his bins in September, 2013, in the days before the reciprocating saw was dumped.
When he approached Williams, "she seemed a bit scrambled", he told Brisbane Supreme Court.
He took in the saw, telling friends, "look what the fairies brought me".
But media coverage of the discovery of Mr Gerbic's remains changed his outlook.
"I basically tracked down the local police officer there and proceeded to melt down," he told the court.
"It sort of just seemed too much of a coincidence. I was just worried about everything."
At the start of the trial, the prosecution claimed police found DNA on the Ozito saw that matched Mr Gerbic's.
Williams, 60, told investigators Mr Gerbic died after hitting his head on the corner of a granite kitchen benchtop due to slipping on her blood after he cut her during a fight in their Sunshine Coast home.
She has pleaded not guilty to murder although she has admitted to hitting him with a bar stool in self defence.
Williams has pleaded guilty to interfering with his corpse after admitting to dumping the torso near Gympie, about 80km from where he was allegedly murdered, and setting fire to the grassy area.
She has denied cutting up his body up and said she did not know who did.
On Thursday, Mr Kruse also recounted an incident at a Mooloolaba cafe in which Williams had a fit.
While people attempted to help her, Mr Kruse said Mr Gerbic ignored her plight and "sat there and read the paper".
The trial also heard from Dr Marc Daniels, who treated Williams for the cut on her arm.
He was unable to categorically say if the laceration was self-inflicted or not, but other injuries he observed including bruising and head pain suggested it was consistent with being suffered during a domestic violence incident.
A rubbish removalist also told the court he was employed by Williams to dispose of items including a black plastic bag.
Williams had told him the bag contained a rat and while he did not see the contents, he had noticed maggots "coming out of the bag".
The trial continues on Friday.
Australian Associated Press