A man has been found guilty of kidnapping, murdering and burning the body of Wangaratta teen Charlie Gander, 19, on Christmas Eve in 2022.

After three days of deliberations, the jury in the Supreme Court murder trial convened on Tuesday afternoon to deliver a split verdict on three accused, Kylie Stott, 40, Dimitri D’Elio, 27, and Danny Clarke, 41.

The jury found D’Elio guilty of kidnapping, murdering and arson after Mr Gander’s body was found alight inside a Ford Territory on Loch Garry Road near Bunbartha, 15km north of Shepparton by a nearby resident.

Stott, who was in a relationship with D’Elio at the time, was found guilty of kidnapping and manslaughter, after being found not guilty of murder and arson.

Clarke was found guilty of kidnapping, but innocent of murder, manslaughter and arson.

All three Shepparton locals pleaded not guilty to all charges during a near seven-week trial which heard from emergency service workers, forensic pathologists, DNA experts and police officers.

At the beginning of the trial, crown prosecutor Mark Gibson KC said the trio acted as a team to exact revenge on Mr Gander, who was believed to have “ratted on” Stott’s friend, Tyson May.

After a police raid in Shepparton in November 2022, Mr Gander, who was in the residence and threw a gun away when police arrived, gave a police interview and made a statement saying May, who was prohibited to own a firearm, was in possession of a homemade .22 firearm.

A disc of the recorded interview “found its way” to May’s friends, which Mr Gibson said would cost Mr Gander “dearly”.

The court heard it was alleged Stott held a hatred of Mr Gander after hearing about the interview.

The prosecution believed D’Elio was driven by his “deep affection” for Stott, and Clarke was enlisted as a “second male” to help assist the alleged plan to kill Gander on the night of 23 December, 2022.

The court heard from forensic pathologist Dr Paul Bedford that due to the extent of the fire damage to the body and the lack of other non-fire related trauma present, a cause of death could not be ascertained.

Prosecution argued Mr Gander was possibly bashed or stabbed to death given a bloodied knife was recovered from inside D'Elio's car; or drugged to death, given the high quantity of methylamphetamine found in Mr Gander's system.

Black tape and green twine were also found in the vehicle.

Police checks showed D’Elio had searched for “dead man in car” days prior to any media coverage of the incident while the 19-year-old’s name was saved as “Charlie dead dog Gander” in Stott’s phone.

The court heard the Wangaratta teen had planned to spend Christmas with his father, who was living at Benalla at the time.

Defence counsel of all three accused distanced their clients from orchestrating the crime.

Daniel Sala, acting for Stott, rejected the prosecution's arguments that she was key in orchestrating the acts against Mr Gander.

Paul Kounnas, acting on behalf of D'Elio, argued Stott and Clarke were the "prime movers" in the crimes and that D'Elio was “tagging along” and did nothing to advance the killing.

Christopher Terry, acting on behalf of Mr Clarke, argued his client had no reason to kill Mr Gander and D’Elio was responsible for the killing.

The trio have been in custody since their arrest on 30 December, 2022 and were remanded to return to court on 28 July to schedule plea dates.