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Dealer's body dumped in cemetery lake

Dealer's body dumped in cemetery lake

A prolific drug dealer was strangled by one of her clients and then dumped still alive in a cemetery lake because he wanted to rob her of a large amount of cash and meth, a court has been told.

The body of Diana Matthews, 46, was found in the shallow reservoir of Rockingham Memorial Park cemetery in 2011.

Allan Bradley McIntosh today went on trial for Ms Matthews' murder, accused of using a length of wire to choke her as they travelled in a car driven by another woman.

Prosecutor Alan Troy detailed the final night of Ms Matthews life, on April 29, 2011 which was spent dealing drugs in various parks around Baldivis.

One of those buying was Mr McIntosh, who was being driven in a Toyota Tarago van.

Several witnesses are set to tell the trial they saw Ms Matthews in the vehicle in the hours before the death.

Mr Troy said Mcintosh had spotted Ms Matthews was carrying around an ounce of meth, and around $11,000 in cash, and plotted to rob her.

And he is alleged to have done that by leaning in from the back seat of the car and strangled her with the wire.

Ms Matthews was then dumped face down in the cemetery reservoir. But a post mortem later revealed she may have been alive for up to three hours after the attack.

Interviewed at the time by police, McIntosh denied any involvement - but two years later, police were provided with more information, and McIntosh was recorded talking about Ms Matthews' death.

Mr Troy said that in taped conversation, McIntosh could be heard saying that "what we did was f***ed and we have got to live with it for the rest of our lives".

"It was only supposed to scare her," he also said.

The jury was told no forensic evidence linking Ms Matthews to being in the car was found - and the clothes she was wearing on the night she died were mistakenly destroyed by the mortuary where he body was taken.

The trial continues.