Man who spent year on the run in US found guilty of murdering Sydney man Mario Phetmang
An Australian father-of-two who spent a year on the run in the US has been found guilty of murder in a Sydney court today.
Alex Dion was found guilty of murdering Mario Phetmang, 33, and then dumping his body on the side of the road in Sydney Olympic Park in May 2018.
The 40-year-old fled to the US and evaded authorities for a year before he was arrested in California and extradited back to Australia, where he was charged over the murder.
Mr Phetmang, 33, vanished after walking out of South Hurstville service station in May 2018.
A truck driver discovered his body 10 days later, wrapped in a plastic mattress protector on the side of Homebush Bay Drive.
During Dion’s trial, Crown prosecutor Michael Barr told the jury Mr Phetmang was killed over drugs.
It was the Crown’s case that Mr Dion then tried to hide Mr Phetmang’s hat, glasses and hooded jumper in a water tank at an East Killara building site where he had been working as a tiler.
The court also heard Mr Dion allegedly caught an Uber to Sydney Airport on the day he disposed of the body and later used Mr Phetmang’s credit card at a casino in the US.