WA prosecutors reject manslaughter plea

A man accused of murdering 56-year-old Stephen Cookson has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but prosecutors have rejected his plea.

Aaron Carlino pleaded guilty to the December 2012 manslaughter of Mr Cookson, at the start of his trial in the West Australian Supreme Court on Monday.

But prosecutors did not accept his plea, so his murder trial is proceeding.

Justice Stephen Hall told the jury that Carlino's manslaughter plea indicated he accepted that he killed Mr Cookson but did not intend to threaten his life.

Yovan Joshua Gonzalez is also on trial with Carlino, accused of interfering with a corpse.

The trial is expected to resume on Wednesday.