A man has been convicted of killing a Maltese-Australian pig-farmer near Sydney. 

Keith Cini was bashed to death with a pick handle in his home three years ago.

Ryan David Evans, 28, showed no emotion when a jury returned a guilty verdict after two days of deliberations.

Evans was found not guilty of the attempted murder of Mr Cini’s partner, Luciana Boldi, who pretended to be dead after she was beaten on the bedroom floor of her home. He was, however, also convicted of severely beating another man in another attempted burglary a month before Cini's murder. 

Evans was a former employee of Mr Cini. He targeted his home on a day when he knew that Mr Cini would have between $10,000 and $20,000 from the sale of pigs locked in a safe before being deposited the next day.

Evans was accompanied by an accomplice who pleaded guilty and was jailed for 28 years.  

Sentencing for Mr Evans is expected in the coming days. 

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