Dylan Wyatt: Killer violently attacked Matthew Warrington 'to follow' duo's plan

A killer was only following his partner’s plan when he violently attacked a man, mutilated his body and then dumped his remains along a busy train line.

Barrister Emily Clark argued her client Dylan Wyatt, 38, did not hold a grievance towards his victim, Matthew Warrington.

It was instead Kasha McIver, 39, and Brendan Dalton, 54, who formulated the plan to attack him after he let McIver take the blame for his drug stash, Ms Clark said.

McIver and Wyatt have both pleaded guilty in the Victorian Supreme Court to the manslaughter of Mr Warrington, while Dalton was found guilty of the offence at trial.

Wyatt and McIver sneaked into a Chadstone home, in Melbourne’s southeast, on July 16, 2023, and killed Mr Warrington during a dangerous and unlawful assault.

Wyatt moved Mr Warrington’s body into a wheelie bin and dumped the remains at the nearby Glen Waverley train line on the morning of July 18.

The killers then set the Chadstone property on fire and fled the scene.

Photos of Mr Warrington’s hog-tied and mutilated body were taken and shared by Wyatt, the court was told.

When police located Mr Warrington’s body on July 21, he had a missing finger, tape around his neck and cuts behind his knees that suggested they had tried to dismember him.

An autopsy could not determine his exact cause of death although he may have been strangled.

McIver, Wyatt and Dalton made the plan to attack Mr Warrington because he let McIver tell police his 2.5kg of drugs were hers, crown prosecutor David Glynn said.

But Ms Clark argued Wyatt did not hold a grievance towards Mr Warrington and it was his co-offenders who formulated the plan to assault and rob him.

She conceded her client became “actively involved” in the plan, carrying out the physical assault and the mutilation.

In pushing for a reduced sentence, Ms Clark pointed to Wyatt’s guilty plea, his troubled upbringing, mental health issues and drug addiction.

He was also facing deportation back to New Zealand at the end of his sentence which would make his time in custody more burdensome, Ms Clark said.

McIver’s barrister Ruth Shann SC argued her client’s mental impairments both contributed to her offending and would make her time in jail more difficult.

She urged the judge to find McIver was remorseful and had good prospects of rehabilitation given she was responding well to treatment.

Dalton’s barrister John Desmond argued his client should receive a lesser sentence as he was not involved in the physical acts that led to the death.

Dalton instead sent a series of messages and organised transportation for McIver and Wyatt to get to and from the Chadstone home, the court was told.

Justice James Gorton will hand down the trio’s sentences at a later date.