Imran Muhammed, a Pakistani shop assistant attacked a colleague Seyed Khan, 49, a married father-of-seven who suspected him of stealing money from the A-Z Furniture and Carpets where they both worked.
Mohammed hacked Mr Khan to death amid fears that if reported for stealing he could be sent back to Pakistan after overstaying his visa in the UK.
Muhammed, 31, took Mr Khan by surprise as he arrived for a shift at A-Z Furniture and Carpets in Ilford, east London, on January 24, hitting him in the head with the deadly weapon at least 12 times.
The killer without a care in the world, wheeled the body in a shopping trolley from a nearby supermarket and dumped it in undergrowth at Ilford cemetery, jurors told.
He went on to clean up the blood and “coolly and deliberately” call police to make a false report that he had been robbed and slashed with glass on the arm to “spin a false story”.
Mr Khan’s body was found eight days later after a search with a specially trained police dog, and the defendant who has fled the area but was later arrested in Glasgow.
Prosecutor Tim Cray said the defendant did not dispute the killing or that he tried to cover his tracks, but claimed loss of control following a sexual advance.
Imran Muhammed leaving a coach in Glasgow (PA Images)But the prosecution asserted the defendant had lied and it was a “planned and deliberate murder”.
In the weeks before the killing, the victim told his wife that an employee had been stealing money but begged him to take pity.
Muhammed had previous convictions for dishonesty and was an over-stayer in the country, giving him a motive to kill, the court heard.
It’s still very worrying how its so easy for this people to kill, how it is so easy for them to take the life of another human being and just relax about it, going about their normal business as if nothing has happened. This people need to be reminded that this is England not Pakistan and hacking people to death with an ‘AXE’ is against the law here, no matter how much they hide it the law will catch up with them.
Jurors were told that four days before the attack, Muhammed searched the internet for “how to kill a man with a hammer”, with a punch, and “brain injuries”
The defendant, from Ilford, east London, denied murder, but a jury rejected his explanation and convicted him by a majority of 11 to one after 13 hours and 25 minutes.
He was remanded in custody to be sentenced on Friday.