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A murder trial has heard details of how a man's partial remains were found in a paddock in Gerogery.

Paul Anthony Watson is standing trial over the death of William Chaplin.

The court heard Mr Chaplin was last seen alive by his half-brother in Wodonga about April 4, 2010, having last accessed his bank account and reported to Centrelink in February of that year.

Detective Inspector Chris Wallace said an excavation of a grave in a field at the rear of Watson's Main Street property in Gerogery occurred in late August 2019.

The detective said the skull was found at a depth of about 30 centimetres, with the court previously told it was linked to the late man through his mother's DNA.

A crime scene had been established at the site on August 26, 2019.

Detective Inspector Wallace said stacked tyres in a round yard were moved and a burial site located.

"It looked like a grave and something had been burning on top of it," he said.

It's alleged Mr Chaplin's remains were burnt following his death.

The grave was excavated on August 29, with images presented in court showing a human skull.

Detective Inspector Wallace said cameras had previously been installed near silos on the Olympic Highway.

"I put them there to ensure we could maintain the integrity of the site, so no-one would disturb it and if they did, we would know about it," he said.

The court previously heard an inmate who served time with Watson reported alleged confessions made by Watson to the killing to prison staff and police.

The information eventually made its way to the detective.

Detective Inspector Wallace said the man did not seek any reward, return or benefit for reporting the matter.

The detective said he had applied for phone taps and been listening to phone calls between Watson's wife, Samone and a younger man, and between the younger man and his parents.

Recordings were played to the jury on Friday, including an August 15, 2019 call in which the younger man told his mother "I killed him".

The younger man said "we found him one night" touching a girl and said he had taken him to a round yard, cut his throat, "then we burnt his body".

The man said there was "no trace evidence" and asked his mum to stick to her story.

The man's father, in another intercepted phone call asked "you and someone else made this person disappear?" "Yeah," he replied.

In another call, the younger man told his dad "I cut his throat".

The evidence was finalised in the trial on Friday ahead of closing submissions on Wednesday.

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