An accused killer’s committal hearing has been pushed back after his brother allegedly burnt down the family home.
John Torney, 40, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court via video link today for the start of his committal hearing over the death of Cobram woman Emma Bates.
But prosecutor Matthew Cookson asked for the hearing to be adjourned because two key witnesses – Torney’s brother and mother – were no longer available to give evidence.
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Torney’s brother had been charged and was in police custody after allegedly setting fire to the family home on Sunday, Cookson said.
Police had attended the property to carry out a welfare check when the man allegedly started the uncontrollable blaze, the prosecutor said.
The home was destroyed and Torney’s mother was left homeless without any of her possessions, Cookson told the court.
The woman was physically OK after being hospitalised but she was not in the headspace to give evidence, the prosecutor said.
Cookson applied to have the committal hearing adjourned, saying it was impossible to finalise the case without hearing from the two witnesses.
Torney’s barrister Hayden Rattray highlighted his client had been in custody since April 2024, noting the case could proceed without those prosecution witnesses.
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But magistrate Stephen Ballek described the circumstances as “extreme” and allowed the adjournment given the seriousness of the charges.
Torney was remanded to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court in October for a four-day committal hearing.
It’s alleged he knew Bates, 49, who was found dead inside a Cobram property, near the NSW border, on April 23, 2024.
Police initially charged Torney with 13 offences including intentionally causing injury, several counts of assault and breaching a court order.
An additional charge of negligent manslaughter was laid against Torney in December.
In 2016, Torney was acquitted of murdering a toddler after the two-year-old girl’s beaten body was discovered in the roof cavity of a Mildura house.
National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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