Emma Bates seen with bloodied, bruised face in days before body found, court told

An alarming number of Australian women have been killed in recent years. Find out more about their lives. Some of the cases are still before the courts.

In the days before Emma Bates was found dead inside her Cobram home, her accused killer’s family members saw her face bloodied and bruised on several occasions.

The details of Bates’ final days were aired during a committal hearing of John Torney, 41, who has been charged with negligent manslaughter over her death in April last year.

Emma Bates pictured as a younger woman.

On Tuesday, his brother, Craig Chaille, told the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court he had visited Bates and Torney about three times in the days leading up to the 49-year-old being found dead inside her Campbell Road home near the NSW-Victoria border on April 23 last year.

Torney is alleged to have had a relationship with Bates and moved into her home in the weeks before she died after falling out with his mother and brother, who lived next door.

Chaille said that one night in April he woke up to hear Bates and Torney arguing from his house.

The court heard he went over and saw Torney walking around the house with a bottle of alcohol.

Emma Bates was found dead at her home in Cobram in April last year.

He said his brother was consuming crystal meth and cannabis before Bates’ death and the last time he saw her she had a swollen, bloodied lip.

Chaille told the court he had spoken to Bates about calling the police on his brother and said that during one of his visits she was pleading with Torney to stop damaging her home.

He also told the court his brother had a history of violence.

During a hearing last October, the court was told Chaille had said in statement to police his brother had threatened to chop Bates’ body up “into bits and pieces” and force his sibling to bury her remains in the bush.

John Torney has been charged with negligent manslaughter in relation to Emma Bates’ death.Credit: Sunraysia Daily

At the hearing last October, the court heard that Chaille told police Torney had allegedly held a bottle of scotch in the air and threatened to break her jaw. Bates had allegedly asked Chaille not to leave her alone with Torney.

Chaille said that while his brother never hit Bates in front of him, he had raised his fists about five times during one of his visits to her home.

Loading

Torney’s aunt, Brenda Torney, also provided evidence, telling the court she had seen Bates with a large bloodied cut on her eyebrow at the local shops on April 20 during an altercation with her nephew.

She said Torney had spotted her near a bottle shop and began screaming across the street, and she and her former partner ran into a nearby supermarket to hide because they were fearful of him.

Brenda Torney said her nephew was yelling at Bates to follow them into the supermarket.

She said she heard Torney say to Bates: “Get in there, get f---ing in there.”

Loading

On Monday, Torney’s mother, Belinda, was forced to give evidence against her son, telling the court she had asked Torney to call an ambulance when he revealed he could not wake up Bates.

“He goes, ‘She’s breathing. She’s not dead yet ... f---ing idiot,’” Belinda Torney said. “I said to him, ‘Well, maybe get her an ambulance’, and he said he would if she didn’t wake up.”

She told the court her son said he had punched Bates three times in the head.

Bates, who had type 1 diabetes, was found dead in her bedroom inside her home. She had injuries consistent with being violently assaulted, including bruising and a lump under her left eye, a large gash on the top of her head and cuts on her nose, according to documents previously submitted to the court.

Loading

Belinda Torney said that during another conversation with her son, she became concerned Bates’ blood sugar levels might be low because he told her she was still not waking up.

“I then called police and said, ‘If Emma’s sugar is low, she’s going to need an ambulance,’” she told the court.

John Torney was found not guilty of murdering his former partner’s daughter, two-year-old Nikki Francis Coslovich, in their Mildura home in Victoria’s north-west in 2016. The toddler’s badly beaten body was discovered in the roof cavity of the house.

The hearing continues.

Most Viewed in National

Loading