Farmstay guest jailed for killing, burning owner who rejected his advances
A man has been jailed for 17 years for killing a 60-year-old Victorian Airbnb owner and burning down her home to destroy the crime scene.
Maree Vermont's remains were found in the ashes of her hand-built stone house at Goldie, near Kilmore, central Victoria, in 2023.
Timothy Loosemore, a 63-year-old from the UK, was found guilty of manslaughter by a Supreme Court jury in June.
Timothy Loosemore rode his bike from Perth to Melbourne after arriving from the UK in 2022. (Supplied)
He had come to the stone house through Airbnb before staying on in a farmstay arrangement, working around the property in exchange for food and board.
"Maree Vermont was a person who had shown you considerable kindness," Justice Michael Tinney said in the Supreme Court today.
"You repaid her kindness by killing her."
Justice Tinney found Loosemore assaulted Ms Vermont, resulting in her death, then took the "shocking step" of using petrol to set fire to the house and destroy evidence of what he had done.
"This was a heartless and terrible act," he said.
"Maree Vermont was a vibrant, happy and thoroughly decent person. She was unlucky enough to have fate bring you to her door and into her home.
"You became resentful towards her because she did not reciprocate your feelings."
He said Loosemore was "another example of an aggrieved and angry male being unwilling or unable to accept" romantic rejection.
A crime scene photo of Maree Vermont's home after the fire. (Supplied: Supreme Court of Victoria)
More than a dozen family and friends wearing badges with a photo of Ms Vermont and a sunflower packed into the court room.
Loosemore has already spent more than three years in custody.
Speaking outside court, Darcy Vermont said there was "a sense of relief" the court process was over.
"It's never enough to represent what's been taken, but we got the best sentence we could get," he said.
A crime scene photo of one of the three knives found on the floor of the stone house. (Supplied: Supreme Court of Victoria)
'He is taking it badly'
Days before she was killed, Ms Vermont texted her son Darcy, who was staying with her at the time, asking him to keep an eye on her farmstay guest.
"I made it clear that I don't want an intimate relationship with him. He is taking it badly," Ms Vermont texted.
Maree Vermont during construction of the stone house. (Supplied: Darcy Vermont)
A trial last year resulted in a hung jury after weeks of deliberations.
The court has heard that trial did not include the DNA evidence finding Ms Vermont's blood on pants Loosemore was wearing on the night of the fire, due to a workload issue at The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.
Ms Vermont's sons told the court last week of the agony of not knowing their mother's final moments.
Darcy and Harrison Vermont in front of the house where their mother was killed. (ABC News: Tara Whitchurch)
The brothers have moved back to the family farm where their parents, who had separated, spent decades building the stone house where their mum was killed.
"There will always be things I want to tell her, moments I want to share, a goodbye I never got to say, a final hug before she was taken away. I will miss her for the rest of my life," Lachlan Vermont previously told the court.
Maree Vermont with her sons Harrison, Lachlan and Darcy. (Supplied: Darcy Vermont)
Loosemore first stayed at Ms Vermont's home in early 2023 through an Airbnb listing and then returned in a farmstay arrangement for longer periods, working in exchange for food and board.
Ms Vermont's sons told the ABC their mother listed her spare room on Airbnb to make extra income and have help around the rural property.
She was working part-time at a pharmacy in Kilmore.
Loosemore, who is also an Australian citizen, arrived in Australia for a cycling trip with his son in 2022 before continuing to travel alone.
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