For this reason, no one can be prosecuted for his murder, a Supreme Court jury has found.

Bacchus Marsh mechanic Christopher Trotter was on Tuesday found not guilty of murdering Mr Foggin because without a body prosecutors could not prove he was actually dead.

Prosecutors alleged Mr Trotter had been paid to restore Mr Foggin's 1979 XD Ford Falcon and had strung the customer along for more than two years, promising he would repair the $500 car but not making any progress.

Mr Foggin, 46, was seen at Mr Trotter's workshop on the morning of September 24, 2015, and police alleged in a Supreme Court trial that the customer confronted the mechanic, which led to a fight and Mr Foggin's death. Police alleged Mr Trotter then removed and disposed of the other man's body.

Mr Foggin's phones and bank accounts have not been accessed since that day.

Mr Trotter, 47, pleaded not guilty to murder.

His legal team acknowledged their client was a crummy mechanic who was lazy, probably incompetent and had constantly lied to Mr Foggin, who had wanted the car to drive to his native Queensland to live closer to his daughter and grandchildren.

But defence counsel Neill Hutton told the jury last week that without a body, it was near impossible to say for certain Mr Foggin was dead.

There was also no evidence of a fight in the workshop – where the roller doors stayed up all day – and no signs Mr Trotter or Mr Foggin had been injured. Mr Foggin's DNA was found in the mechanic's ute, the court heard, but it was not blood and Mr Trotter told police his customer had once helped him clean the ute.

If Mr Foggin was dead, Mr Hutton said, it was possible he took his own life, as he previously suffered depression, briefly contemplated suicide in December 2014, was a heavy drinker and daily cannabis user with financial problems. Police found antidepressants – past their use-by date – among his possessions, the court heard.

"Is he actually dead, Mr Foggin, or has he just gone off the radar from his own personal difficulties?" Mr Hutton asked the jury in his closing submission last Thursday.

"If he is dead, how did he die and when? At his own hand? These are the questions I asked on day one.

"If someone else other than Mr Foggin is involved in the death, who is it, and importantly, where, when, how and why? And what's the motive? These simply no motive of any substance that's been provided."

Prosecutor Daryl Brown told the jury it was implausible Mr Foggin either took his own life or was alive not wanting to be found, as he spoke to his daughter daily, was close to his grandchildren and planned to drive to see them. Mr Foggin sought help when he previously contemplated suicide, he said.

The prosecutor also argued it was implausible Mr Foggin calmly left Mr Trotter's workshop that day and planned to return a week later, as Mr Trotter had told police, given the customer told people he would confront the mechanic over his car.

Mr Trotter regularly lied to Mr Foggin and police, Mr Brown said.

But Mr Hutton said his client had lied to police in fear of their investigation and did so in panic or possibly stupidity.

The jury's verdict, delivered after almost two days of deliberations, was met with gasps, tears and smiles from Mr Trotter's family and friends.