A MAN who stabbed a male nurse 41 times and cut off his penis to keep as a souvenir later told a friend he'd "done something very wrong", a Brisbane court has been told.

Michael Stephen Owen-Darcy, 30, is facing trial over the death of David John Easton, 37, at Inala in suburban Brisbane in July 2007.

Owen-Darcy, a boarder at Mr Easton's home at the time of the killing, pleaded not guilty to murder in the Brisbane Supreme Court today .

In his opening address, crown prosecutor Brendan Campbell foreshadowed gruesome evidence about Mr Easton's 41 stab wounds, some 16 centimetres deep, which caused "horrendous injuries".

Mr Campbell told jurors they would hear evidence about how Owen-Darcy fatally stabbed Mr Easton in the neck and chest before decorating his corpse with more stab wounds.

He said Owen-Darcy had posed the corpse for photographs with props including a pot plant.

The jury heard Owen-Darcy had shoved a pair of nail scissors up Mr Easton's nostril and put bandaids over his eyes with dots drawn on them.

He had cut off the deceased man's penis, wrapped it in Glad Wrap and put it in a salt bottle to "keep it as a souvenir," the court was told. The victim's testicles were severed and left in the kitchen sink.

Before the stabbing, Owen-Darcy, Easton and a third man, Christopher Gilmore, had participated in sex acts, the court was told.

Owen-Darcy and Mr Gilmore then went on a heroin bender the day after Mr Easton's death.

The court was told Mr Gilmore had no involvement in Mr Easton's killing and would give evidence at the trial.

Jurors were told three knives and a bayonet were used in the killing and were covered in DNA and fingerprint evidence.

Mr Campbell said the court would also hear about phone calls Owen-Darcy made after the death when he told a friend he had "done something very wrong" and was "going to get into a lot of shit".

The trial, before Justice John Byrne, continues.

Originally published as Victim's penis cut off as trophy - court