Accused killer’s case delayed after fire destroys home

The commitment of a defendant killer was pushed back after allegedly burned his brother’s family house.

40 -year -old John Torney, Cobram woman Emma Batees on the beginning of the commitment hearing on Tuesday to the Melbourne Magistrate Criminal Court through the video link.

However, the prosecutor Matthew Cookson asked the hearing to postpone because the two lock witnesses – Torney’s brother and mother – he was no longer ready to give evidence.

Cookson said the police were accused of his brother’s brother and allegedly opened fire on the family house on Sunday.

The prosecutor joined the property to make a prosperity control allegedly initiated the unidentified fire.

The house was destroyed in the court and Tornay’s mother was homeless without any belongings.

The prosecutor was physically good after the patient was taken to hospital, but he was not in the head gap to give evidence.

Mr. Cookson said that it was impossible to conclude the case without news from two witnesses, and the postponement of the commitment hearing was postponed.

Torney’s lawyer Hayden Rattray stressed that his client has been detained since April 2024 and said that the case could continue without this prosecution witnesses.

However, the peace judge Stephen Ballek described the conditions as “extreme” and allowed to postpone the seriousness of the charges.

Torney was arrested in October to appear in the Melbourne Magistrate Criminal Court in October for a four -day commitment hearing.

On April 23, 2024, a 49 -year -old Miss Bates, who were found dead on a cobram property near the NSW border, is allegedly known.

The police initially accused the Torn on 13 crimes, such as intentionally causing injury, violating several attacks and violating the court decisions.

In December, an additional negligent man was accused of Torney.

In 2016, Torney was acquitted of killing a child after being discovered in the roof void of a two -year -old girl’s beaten body in a Mildura house.