A Brisbane man accused of murdering two people, who were forced into a toolbox and dumped in a creek, says a mate wanted to throw the pair off a cliff.

February 13, 2020

A man accused of murdering two drug dealers forced into a toolbox at knifepoint and dumped in a creek says one of his mates wanted to throw the pair off a cliff.

Cory Breton’s and Iuliana Triscaru’s decomposing bodies were found in a large metal box on February 11, 2016 at Scrubby Creek, south of Brisbane.

Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, 28, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the pair after they were lured to a townhouse in Kingston 18 days earlier and assaulted by a group of men.

But in a police interview played at his Brisbane Supreme Court trial on Wednesday, Tahiata admitted driving the toolbox to the creek after receiving a call to help a group of mates.

“No one knew how to drive manual,” he told police as he explained how he became involved in the killings.

Tahiata said the men, who he described as old school friends, originally planned to take the box to Beaudesert and let Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru walk back.

But they then decided on a local quarry but Tahiata said he and a man named Trent Thrupp found the gates were locked when they got there.

The pair then drove to the creek, where Tahiata claims Thrupp pushed the toolbox into the water while the pair screamed from inside.

However, he said the plan to kill Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru was made earlier in the day when the duo were being held at the townhouse.

“It started getting more hectic … (someone said) we’re just gonna have to cark these guys,” he explained in the interview.

He said he was told Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were “snitches” who owed a lot of money.

“It sorta went south from there … someone was saying they were gonna f***in’ just shoot them, throw them off a cliff, or leave them in the toolbox and throw them off a cliff,” he said.

The trial continues on Thursday.