A former McDonald's worker has been found guilty of bludgeoning a lonely widower to death with a Virgin Mary statue and a tin of mangoes in his Kew East home, more than a year after she first faced trial.

A string of legal bungles saw Katia Pyliotis face trial four times for the murder of 69-year-old widower Elia Abdelmessih who was bashed to death with the statue and the tin of fruit on September 18, 2005.

Katia Pyliotis outside the Supreme Court in 2017. Credit:Vince Caligiuri

His head was submerged in a bowl of water when police found him two days later, after a call from a concerned neighbour.

The tin of mangoes was dented and had blood on it, and was near his body, along with the statue, a vase, two wrenches and a ceramic ornament.