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Qld man ‘killed his mum’ after will change

Stephen Jonathan Pike has denied murdering his 63-year-old mother Suellen in August 2010.

His trial began in the Supreme Court in Brisbane today.

The Gold Coast City Council worker was charged six weeks after his mother went missing in August 2010.

She has never been found.

The court heard less than two weeks before she vanished, Ms Pike told a friend she’d recently made Stephen the sole beneficiary of her will because he wasn’t as financially well-placed as her other son.

She was a disability pensioner and owned the Burleigh Waters duplex she shared with the accused.

Prosecutor Vicki Loury told the jury a crown tooth and the remnants of a handbag and pair of glasses – all matching Ms Pike’s – were found in a fire bed in bushland in the Gold Coast hinterland.

Police were led to the spot after learning Stephen Pike’s broken-down car had been towed from the area on August 15, 2010 – three days after his mother went missing.

The tow truck driver had seen what looked like a shovel in the back seat, Ms Loury said.

The prosecutor said Pike had also lied to police about his movements in the days after his mother’s disappearance.

The day after she vanished he withdrew $100, and shortly after someone paid cash for a shovel and two drop sheets from a nearby Bunnings.

The same type of shovel was later found at the duplex.

The trial continues.

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