Beverley Hanley's sister recalls the discovery of a body during the murder trial of Steven Leslie Hainsworth

The sister of a woman allegedly killed by her own nephew has given an emotional account of finding the 64-year-old's body while giving evidence in a Supreme Court murder trial.

Steven Leslie Hainsworth, 49, is on trial accused of murdering his aunt Beverley Hanley in October 2010, his neighbour Phyllis Harrison, 71, in 1998 and Mount Gambier pensioner Stephen Newton, 55, in 2011.

Cheryl McGee sobbed as she described finding Ms Hanley's body in a doorway at her sister's home in Elizabeth North.

“I went into her bedroom and she wasn't there, but the room was a mess. I couldn't believe how messy it was because she was a person who made sure everything had its place,” she said.

“Bedroom two was also a bit messy… things were open, drawers open, wardrobes open, a few things lying above the bed. Things were being pulled out.”

Ms McGee said she checked the dining room and then looked down the hallway, where she saw her sister's feet “heading for the back door.”

“Her head was on the slope side of the walkway down to the back area… there was just a bunch of blood.”

Ms McGee said she then felt to see if Ms Hanley was breathing before calling 911.

“The lady wanted me to do CPR… she was so cold, she was just laying there and all blue,” she said.

Mrs McGee told the court that her sister had a cricket bat which was kept next to the front door for protection.

Ms Hanley's 85-year-old neighbour, Leonard D'Agostino, told the court he could remember hearing a thud around 10 a.m. on October 6 that sounded like “a baseball bat hitting a skull”.

“I heard some sort of conversation – 'I saw you jump my fence. What do you want?' – and a little bit of an argument. It was muffled and he got a little mean … she knew him,” he said.

“The next thing I felt was a blow, a thud or a jolt. It's hard to describe.

“Something, I don't know what it was.”

Knife found almost a decade after death of first alleged victim

Last week the court heard evidence about a knife found around the corner from the houses where Mr Hainsworth and his first alleged victim, his neighbour Phyllis Harrison, lived.

Alan Jones, a former property owner in Elizabeth South, told the court that he found a “single-blade knife” while raking the garden of his property, which was close to Mr Hainsworth's home in Harvey Road, in 2007.

“I was raking the area and loading the last of the debris onto the trailer when something made a noise against the rake or the shovel… I thought it was a rock,” he said.

Mr Jones said he called the police almost immediately because he knew a murder had occurred nearby nearly a decade ago.

The prosecution showed Mr Jones a knife which he identified as the same one he found in 2007.

“I've never seen it opened. I've only seen it closed, but that's about the size and that's how I would describe it, like with a wooden handle and brass inlays,” he said.

Helen Organ, Mr Hainsworth's partner from 1998, told the court last week that she was with Mr Hainsworth on the morning of March 3 when he killed Ms Harrison, according to the prosecution.

She said she dropped him off at Andrew's farm so he could chat with her children in the afternoon and then picked them up again around 5 p.m.

The trial before Chief Justice Adam Kimber will continue without a jury.