Obsessed British Airbnb guest learns fate for brutally killing host who rejected his advances after a brief fling - before torching her beyond recognition to try and cover it up
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By AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS
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A heartless killer has been jailed for 17 years for fatally assaulting a woman who rejected him and then setting fire to her beloved home.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Andrew Tinney denounced Timothy Loosemore's callous disregard for Maree Vermont as he handed down his sentence on Friday afternoon.
Loosemore, 63, has still shown no remorse for his crimes, claiming to a jury that he did not harm Ms Vermont or set fire to her Goldie property, 70 kilometres north of Melbourne.
But he was found guilty of manslaughter in June, with jurors convinced he fatally assaulted the 60-year-old mother of three on the evening of August 5, 2023.
He then set alight the home, which Ms Vermont had spent decades building.
'Your purpose in doing all of this was to destroy the house and the body of Ms Vermont in order to cover up your crime,' Justice Tinney said in sentencing.
Loosemore had met Ms Vermont in March 2023 when she provided him a room in exchange for work on her property.
The pair had a brief intimate relationship but five days before her death she told him she did not want it to continue.
Timothy Loosemore, 62, appearing in the Supreme Court of Victoria for a pre-sentence hearing carrying a bible
Timothy Loosemore initially stayed as an Airbnb guest in March 2023 after arriving in Australia the previous September
The court heard Maree Vermont valued Loosemore's practical help around the large rural property and his company, but did not wanta romantic relationship
Justice Tinney said it was clear Loosemore had killed Ms Vermont because he was angry and resentful that she did not reciprocate his feelings.
'She was a person who had shown you considerable kindness,' the judge said.
'You repaid her kindness by killing her.'
Loosemore had shown no remorse and instead demonstrated an 'unnerving lack of concern' for Ms Vermont in the immediate aftermath, Justice Tinney said.
The judge noted he lied repeatedly to neighbours, police and paramedics, and even to his psychologist when he claimed he could not remember the night of the manslaughter.
'At all times you have known and remembered precisely what you did,' Justice Tinney said.
'But you chose not to tell the truth because it would reveal your crime.'
The judge accepted Loosemore had no prior convictions and his prospects of rehabilitation were reasonable given the time he would have to reflect in prison.
Loosemore had been an on-and-off guest at Ms Vermont's home, occupying a room in her dream home that she had devoted 30 years to perfecting
The burnt out remains of the home where Ms Vermont was killed
Ms Vermont sons Darcy, Harrison and Lachlan Vermont
But he said male violence was a scourge on society and Ms Vermont was clearly a vibrant and much-loved woman who was unlucky to have met Loosemore.
'Your breach of trust in killing her was substantial,' Justice Tinney told the killer.
'This was a heartless and terrible act.'
Loosemore looked down as he was jailed for 17 years but he will be eligible for parole after 13 years.
Outside court, Ms Vermont's son Darcy said the family was relieved the court process was finished.
'(The sentence) definitely doesn't represent what we've lost collectively... but it's something,' he told reporters.
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