A Sydney man has spat at jurors and labelled them "pigs" after they found him guilty of murdering his nephew in an "honour killing" over an extramarital affair.
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The 50-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had denied murdering his nephew by shooting him seven times with a semi-automatic weapon at the entrance of a home in western Sydney in 2015.
The Crown had alleged the 23-year-old victim spent hours in an intimate "meeting" with his aunt - the accused's wife - before he was fatally shot in the head and heart.
The victim came from overseas to move into the Sydney home of the older man and his wife as part of a plan to marry their daughter - the victim's cousin.
The 11-person NSW Supreme Court jury spent more than a week deliberating before Justice Peter Johnson directed them on Wednesday they could return a 10-1 verdict if need be.
As the defendant was found guilty, he collapsed before regaining his feet and hurling abuse at the jury.
"I'm innocent, I didn't kill him," he shouted repeatedly.
"I'm like you, I'm Australian."
He then spat across the courtroom in the direction of the jury and started abusing Justice Johnson too.
"You helped them, you gave them the chance to find me guilty.
"You f***ing pigs.
"You helped them, you are police dogs."
After multiple sheriffs forcibly removed him from the courtroom, he could be heard banging on walls, yelling and groaning loudly.
Justice Johnson said he understood a criminal trial places pressure on all involved but the guilty man's "torrent of abuse" tended to provide an insight into him.
The Crown had alleged the older man found out about his wife's affair with his nephew and developed a motive to kill because it breached "the honour code".
The nephew moved out but persisted with the affair, later telling police he was being followed and wanted to take out intervention orders against the uncle.
The Crown alleged that though no one saw him murder the man, the uncle tracked down his nephew's new home and lay in wait between a brick fence and a pine tree near his door.
When the victim returned from the intimate meeting with his aunt, the uncle shot him six times in the head and once in his heart.
The Crown alleged one bullet was shot - based on the blood spatter pattern on the wall - as the victim lay slumped on the home's tiled entrance and with his car keys still in his hand.
The aunt's DNA was also allegedly found on swabs of the nephew's genitals, palm and wrist.
It was also alleged the killer spent more than $2500 on tracking the location of his wife and nephew in the weeks before the murder.
"I trusted you with my wife and children," the killer sent via text in the hours before the killing.
Justice Johnson, who said he'd never seen an accused person abuse a jury in such a manner, told the jurors he agreed with their verdict.
"In my view, this was a very strong circumstantial case," he said.
"His behaviour shows the type of explosive personality that may shed light on the circumstances as to why he committed this crime."
The uncle will be sentenced at a later date.
The jurors were excused from jury service for 12 years and encouraged to seek court-funded counselling.
Australian Associated Press
