The prosecution said Steve Constantinou murdered Ms Martin to avoid repaying a debt but the 49-year-old claimed she died in a sex act gone wrong.
The Victorian Supreme Court trial heard Ms Martin died of a compression injury to her neck.
Forensic pathologist Paul Bedford said she was likely strangled from behind with a type of ligature and a moderate amount of force.
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Prosecutor Mark Rochford SC told the court Constantinou killed Ms Martin when she asked that he repay $8500 he had borrowed from her.
However Constantinou said the death was the accidental result of a sex act.
He told the court he was watching a porn film while tugging on the reins of a dog collar when Ms Martin collapsed dead on his bed at his Port Melbourne apartment in October 2011.
Constantinou said once he established she was dead he gathered her belongings in a panic then drove to Footscray where he sold her jewellery at a pawn store.
He said he then returned to his apartment to wrap her body in a sheet then dumped her on a nearby footpath.
A friend of Ms Martin, who was formerly involved in the sex industry, said Ms Martin did not get involved in bondage because she considered it dangerous.
The jury deliberated for just over a day before reaching its verdict on Friday afternoon.
Constantinou stared at the floor as the verdict was read out.
