Woman allegedly murdered after ending relationship
A retired British carpenter allegedly murdered a woman and set her house alight after she tried to break off their relationship, a court has been told.
Timothy Loosemore has pleaded not guilty to arson and murder following a blaze at Maree Vermont's home in the rural town of Goldie, north of Melbourne, in the Macedon Ranges in 2023.
He arrived in Australia in 2022 to travel when he met Ms Vermont, who was offering free accommodation on Airbnb in exchange for work being done around the house.
They struck up a friendship and at one point, that relationship became intimate.
Ms Vermont had been planning overseas trips and wanted to break things off, describing the relationship to friends as "just sex" and a "fling", Crown prosecutor Grant Hayward told the Victorian Supreme Court jury trial on Tuesday.
Mr Hayward said she texted her son on July 31, 2023 saying Loosemore had "taken it bad" after she tried to end things.
On August 5, Ms Vermont picked Loosemore up from the dentist and they went to the shops before having dinner at home and consuming a lot of alcohol.
"At some stage there was argument and Loosemore murdered Ms Vermont," Mr Hayward told the jury.
Prosecutors allege he killed her and then set fire to the house or assaulted her and tried to conceal the assault by setting the house alight.
Ms Vermont was found laying face down in the lounge room with such severe burns that her legs and arms were reduced to fragments, the jury was told.
Arson investigators believe the fire began in the lounge room and quickly spread, possibly due to a flammable liquid or multiple ignition points, the prosecutor said.
Loosemore said he had gone to gather firewood and returned to find the house engulfed in flames before running to alert neighbours and emergency authorities.
A paramedic who treated him identified a "strong smell" of petrol while another observed blood on his face, hands and shirt, the jury was told.
Loosemore said he had put petrol in the lawnmower that afternoon, but also told doctors he had a poor memory because he had been drinking and was taking painkillers after his dental visit.
Defence barrister Dave Cronin urged the jury to consider the circumstances around the situation.
He asked them to be cognisant of the length of time Loosemore was away from the house, his rush in rural bushland to alert neighbours potentially explaining scratches, and Ms Vermont had been taking anti-depressants at the time.
The trial continues.
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Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
A retired British carpenter allegedly murdered a woman and set her house alight after she tried to break off their relationship, a court has been told.
Timothy Loosemore has pleaded not guilty to arson and murder following a blaze at Maree Vermont's home in the rural town of Goldie, north of Melbourne, in the Macedon Ranges in 2023.
He arrived in Australia in 2022 to travel when he met Ms Vermont, who was offering free accommodation on Airbnb in exchange for work being done around the house.
They struck up a friendship and at one point, that relationship became intimate.
Ms Vermont had been planning overseas trips and wanted to break things off, describing the relationship to friends as "just sex" and a "fling", Crown prosecutor Grant Hayward told the Victorian Supreme Court jury trial on Tuesday.
Mr Hayward said she texted her son on July 31, 2023 saying Loosemore had "taken it bad" after she tried to end things.
On August 5, Ms Vermont picked Loosemore up from the dentist and they went to the shops before having dinner at home and consuming a lot of alcohol.
"At some stage there was argument and Loosemore murdered Ms Vermont," Mr Hayward told the jury.
Prosecutors allege he killed her and then set fire to the house or assaulted her and tried to conceal the assault by setting the house alight.
Ms Vermont was found laying face down in the lounge room with such severe burns that her legs and arms were reduced to fragments, the jury was told.
Arson investigators believe the fire began in the lounge room and quickly spread, possibly due to a flammable liquid or multiple ignition points, the prosecutor said.
Loosemore said he had gone to gather firewood and returned to find the house engulfed in flames before running to alert neighbours and emergency authorities.
A paramedic who treated him identified a "strong smell" of petrol while another observed blood on his face, hands and shirt, the jury was told.
Loosemore said he had put petrol in the lawnmower that afternoon, but also told doctors he had a poor memory because he had been drinking and was taking painkillers after his dental visit.
Defence barrister Dave Cronin urged the jury to consider the circumstances around the situation.
He asked them to be cognisant of the length of time Loosemore was away from the house, his rush in rural bushland to alert neighbours potentially explaining scratches, and Ms Vermont had been taking anti-depressants at the time.
The trial continues.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
A retired British carpenter allegedly murdered a woman and set her house alight after she tried to break off their relationship, a court has been told.
Timothy Loosemore has pleaded not guilty to arson and murder following a blaze at Maree Vermont's home in the rural town of Goldie, north of Melbourne, in the Macedon Ranges in 2023.
He arrived in Australia in 2022 to travel when he met Ms Vermont, who was offering free accommodation on Airbnb in exchange for work being done around the house.
They struck up a friendship and at one point, that relationship became intimate.
Ms Vermont had been planning overseas trips and wanted to break things off, describing the relationship to friends as "just sex" and a "fling", Crown prosecutor Grant Hayward told the Victorian Supreme Court jury trial on Tuesday.
Mr Hayward said she texted her son on July 31, 2023 saying Loosemore had "taken it bad" after she tried to end things.
On August 5, Ms Vermont picked Loosemore up from the dentist and they went to the shops before having dinner at home and consuming a lot of alcohol.
"At some stage there was argument and Loosemore murdered Ms Vermont," Mr Hayward told the jury.
Prosecutors allege he killed her and then set fire to the house or assaulted her and tried to conceal the assault by setting the house alight.
Ms Vermont was found laying face down in the lounge room with such severe burns that her legs and arms were reduced to fragments, the jury was told.
Arson investigators believe the fire began in the lounge room and quickly spread, possibly due to a flammable liquid or multiple ignition points, the prosecutor said.
Loosemore said he had gone to gather firewood and returned to find the house engulfed in flames before running to alert neighbours and emergency authorities.
A paramedic who treated him identified a "strong smell" of petrol while another observed blood on his face, hands and shirt, the jury was told.
Loosemore said he had put petrol in the lawnmower that afternoon, but also told doctors he had a poor memory because he had been drinking and was taking painkillers after his dental visit.
Defence barrister Dave Cronin urged the jury to consider the circumstances around the situation.
He asked them to be cognisant of the length of time Loosemore was away from the house, his rush in rural bushland to alert neighbours potentially explaining scratches, and Ms Vermont had been taking anti-depressants at the time.
The trial continues.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
A retired British carpenter allegedly murdered a woman and set her house alight after she tried to break off their relationship, a court has been told.
Timothy Loosemore has pleaded not guilty to arson and murder following a blaze at Maree Vermont's home in the rural town of Goldie, north of Melbourne, in the Macedon Ranges in 2023.
He arrived in Australia in 2022 to travel when he met Ms Vermont, who was offering free accommodation on Airbnb in exchange for work being done around the house.
They struck up a friendship and at one point, that relationship became intimate.
Ms Vermont had been planning overseas trips and wanted to break things off, describing the relationship to friends as "just sex" and a "fling", Crown prosecutor Grant Hayward told the Victorian Supreme Court jury trial on Tuesday.
Mr Hayward said she texted her son on July 31, 2023 saying Loosemore had "taken it bad" after she tried to end things.
On August 5, Ms Vermont picked Loosemore up from the dentist and they went to the shops before having dinner at home and consuming a lot of alcohol.
"At some stage there was argument and Loosemore murdered Ms Vermont," Mr Hayward told the jury.
Prosecutors allege he killed her and then set fire to the house or assaulted her and tried to conceal the assault by setting the house alight.
Ms Vermont was found laying face down in the lounge room with such severe burns that her legs and arms were reduced to fragments, the jury was told.
Arson investigators believe the fire began in the lounge room and quickly spread, possibly due to a flammable liquid or multiple ignition points, the prosecutor said.
Loosemore said he had gone to gather firewood and returned to find the house engulfed in flames before running to alert neighbours and emergency authorities.
A paramedic who treated him identified a "strong smell" of petrol while another observed blood on his face, hands and shirt, the jury was told.
Loosemore said he had put petrol in the lawnmower that afternoon, but also told doctors he had a poor memory because he had been drinking and was taking painkillers after his dental visit.
Defence barrister Dave Cronin urged the jury to consider the circumstances around the situation.
He asked them to be cognisant of the length of time Loosemore was away from the house, his rush in rural bushland to alert neighbours potentially explaining scratches, and Ms Vermont had been taking anti-depressants at the time.
The trial continues.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
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20 hours ago
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Ms Patterson told the jury she first became interested in foraging for wild mushrooms during Covid and educated herself online. Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC is leading the case against Ms Patterson. NewsWire/ David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia Over a period of months, she said she grew confident to identify 'field mushrooms and horse mushrooms' growing on her property before deciding to eat some. 'When I got to a point I was confident what they were, I cut a bit off, fried it up with butter, ate it and saw what happened,' she said. 'They tasted good and I didn't get sick.' Ms Patterson said she had purchased a dehydrator on April 28, 2023, to begin experimenting with preserving mushrooms because they had a short shelf life. Crown alleges photo shows Ms Patterson calculating 'fatal dose' Under questioning from Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC, Ms Patterson was taken to a photograph of sliced mushrooms on a dehydrator tray being weighed. The weight recorded was 280.0g and metadata from the photo showed it was last modified on May 4. Ms Patterson agreed the photo was 'likely' taken by her and contains her kitchen bench. Ms Patterson told the jury she loved mushrooms and would buy them one or two times a week. Supplied. Credit: Supplied Previously, the jury heard from mycologist Dr Tom May that the mushrooms pictured were 'consistent with amanita phalloides (death caps) at a high level of confidence'. Questioned on if she accepted the mushrooms pictured were death caps, Ms Patterson said: 'I don't think they are'. She also denied she had foraged these mushrooms in the nearby town of Loch on April 28 after seeing a death cap mushroom sighting post on citizen science website iNaturalist on April 18. Dr Rogers suggested the image recorded Ms Patterson weighing the mushrooms to calculate the 'weight required for the administration of a fatal dose'. 'Disagree,' Ms Patterson responded. 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West Australian
20 hours ago
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Erin Patterson trial: Four takeaways from alleged beef Wellington poisoner's week in the witness box
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'Surely if you loved them (her in-laws) you would have notified health authorities about the possibility of the foraged mushrooms in the container?' Dr Rogers asked. 'Well I didn't,' Ms Patterson replied. 'I had been told people were getting treatment for possible death cap mushroom poisoning so that was already happening.' Ms Patterson confirmed she did not notify anyone of her suspicions and lied to both police and health authorities in the following days by claiming she did not forage for mushrooms. She was taken to a series of messages exchanged with public health officer Sally Anne Atkinson, where Ms Patterson insisted the only mushrooms in the meal were from Woolworths and an Asian grocer. Asked what her state of mind was in relation to the Asian grocer, she said she 'still thought it was a possibility, but I knew it wasn't the only possibility.' Ms Patterson told the court she first learned of Heather and Gail's deaths as police searched her home on August 5 and continued to lie. 'It was this stupid knee-jerk reaction to just dig deeper and keep lying. I was just scared, but I shouldn't have done it,' she said. Ms Patterson claims she vomited after deadly lunch Ms Patterson also told the jury she had long struggled with both her weight and relationships to food since childhood – describing it as a 'rollercoaster'. 'Mum would weigh us every week to make sure we weren't putting on too much weight … I went to the extreme of barely eating then to, through my adulthood, going the other way and bingeing,' she said. She told the court she had engaged in binge eating until she was sick then 'bringing it back up' since her 20s and no one knew. In the lead up to the July 29, 2023, lunch, Ms Patterson said she had been engaging in this behaviour 'two or three times a week'. She told the court that at the lunch with Don, Gail, Heather and Ian, she only ate some of her serving, but consumed about two-thirds of an orange cake after her guests left. 'I had a piece of cake and then another piece of cake and then another,' Ms Patterson said. 'I felt sick. I felt overfull, so I went to the toilets and brought it back up again.' Ms Patterson is expected to return to the witness box and continue giving evidence when the trial resumes on Tuesday.
West Australian
a day ago
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World Gold Council working to lure artisanal miners across globe away from ‘illicit actors'
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