Vic man murdered over $50 debt: court

A Melbourne man is accused of murdering a friend over a $50 debt, and burning his car and body in an alleged attempt to cover his tracks.

Robert Musso, 38, appeared before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday for a pre-trial committal hearing charged with murdering Thomas O'Connell in 2016.

Mr O'Connell's burnt body was found in a car just off Hume Freeway in Wandong in the early hours of February 5, 2016.

Firefighters found the 32-year-old's body in the front passenger side of his car.

Mr O'Connell was so badly burned he could only be identified through DNA testing, according to court documents.

A post-mortem found he had been stabbed once in the back and twice in the chest.

Musso is accused of murdering Mr O'Connell sometime on February 4, 2016, which was the last time the 32-year-old was seen alive.

Musso had been arguing with Mr O'Connell in the days before he died about a $50 debt Musso believed Mr O'Connell owed him.

One of the last people to see Mr O'Connell alive said he was angry at being harassed by Musso.

"He was on the phone and said 'I'm sick of this shit, I'm coming to see you'," Rory Crawford told the court on Monday.

Mr Crawford told police his friend seemed "extremely angry" while he was on the phone.

Police say Mr O'Connell later told another friend that Musso was "going off his head" because he was unhappy about the quality of drugs Mr O'Connell had sold him.

CCTV cameras allegedly show Mr O'Connell's car pulling up across the road from Musso's Mernda home about 10.30pm on February 4, 2016.

A motorist reported the same car on fire next to the Hume Freeway about five hours later.

The committal hearing to determine whether Musso should stand trial will resume on Wednesday.