A man has been found guilty of a violent attack on two female backpackers on the sand dunes of a remote South Australian beach.
The 60-year-old was on trial for sexually assaulting a Brazilian woman and hitting a German woman with a hammer at Salt Creek, east of Adelaide, in February 2016.
The SA Supreme Court jury delivered its verdict on Saturday, finding the man guilty of six charges including indecent assault, aggravated kidnapping and endangering life.
But he was acquitted of attempted murder, with the 11 jurors instead finding him guilty of the lesser charge of aggravated attempted causing serious harm with intent.
The accused met the backpackers through classifieds website Gumtree, where the Brazilian woman had advertised for a ride from Adelaide to Melbourne.
He picked them up from a train station in Adelaide and drove them in his 4WD to the remote spot in SA's Coorong National Park where he attacked them.
The man was found to have hit the German woman over the head with a hammer several times, inflicting four deep lacerations on her scalp that left her drenched in blood.
She fought back and broke free but she was then repeatedly rammed by the man in his 4WD as she fled across the sand.
An image of the crime scene presented to the Adelaide court. Source: AAP
Moments earlier, while walking in the sand dunes with the Brazilian woman, he dragged her to the ground, tied her up with rope, cut off her bikini and sexually assaulted her, the jury found.
The women, both 24, managed to escape the attack and the man was arrested in his car on the beach.
In a statement delivered on behalf of the German woman by SA Commissioner for Victims' Rights Michael O'Connell, she said her life-threatening injuries had a profound effect on her.
"She knows she survived because other people - good Samaritans - came to her aid," Mr O'Connell said.
He said the verdicts gave both women a sense of justice.
"They wanted to see justice done, not only for them but for the people of South Australia," he told reporters outside court.
"They're both extremely brave. They've demonstrated that bravery at the time of the incident .. and as witnesses.
"They are beautiful young people who now deserve the sense of justice that's been given to them."
Prosecutor Jim Pearce QC said the case against the man was overwhelming, and the two backpackers were honest and impressive throughout the two-week trial.
"There is no mystery here about what happened. There is no mystery because the two women told you," Mr Pearce said in his closing submissions.
"You saw two very impressive young women who sat in the witness box and did their best to describe to you a very harrowing ordeal."
It took the jury 12 hours of deliberations to reach their verdict, seeking clarification from Judge Trish Kelly on several occasions about the intent to kill required for the attempted murder charge.
The man, who can't be named for legal reasons, was remanded in custody for sentencing submissions at a later date.
