Emma Bates death: New details after negligent manslaughter charge laid on neighbour John Torney

New details of the investigation into the death of Victorian woman Emma Bates have been aired in court after her neighbour was charged with negligent manslaughter.

John Torney, 40, appeared in the Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday a day after Victoria Police announced a new charge had been laid over the 49-year-old’s death in April this year.

Ms Bates was found dead in her Cobram home in the state’s north on April 23 during a welfare check by police, allegedly with serious injuries to her head and upper body.

Mr Torney was arrested the same day and later charged with 13 offences, including multiple counts of unlawful assault alleged to have occurred at a point in the preceding three days.

He has not been required to enter any pleas.

No charges were laid at the time over Ms Bates’ death, with a Victoria Police spokeswoman saying they’d been unable to determine her cause of death.

The court was told Mr Torney had a new charge of negligent manslaughter laid last Friday after the investigator received a new report from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine on October 30.

“It’s the last report when the determination is ultimately made that the indictable charge is laid,” prosecutor Alex Turner said.

“We had no indication the indictable charge was going to be laid.”

Mr Turner said police had obtained four or five reports as part of the ongoing investigation, which he claimed had been “hampered” by Mr Torney being in custody.

According to the Judicial College of Victoria, the charge of negligent manslaughter relates to an accusation that a person breached a duty of care through conscious, voluntary and deliberate acts that cause a person’s death.

Mr Torney’s lawyer, Kyle McLaughlin, took the court through the history of the case in the previous eight months, resulting in it being set down for a five-day contested hearing in February next year.

That hearing is likely to be vacated, as the new charge cannot be heard in the Magistrates’ Court jurisdiction and will need to be uplifted to the County Court.

Mr McLaughlin said two new charges of reckless conduct endangering life and recklessly causing injury had been laid against his client in late October.

He successfully argued police should pay $780 in legal costs relating to two hearings on June 20 and August 6 that he said were rendered unnecessary by the new charge.

“Had this charge been laid earlier there would have been no utility in any of those appearances,” he said.

“Those costs were effectively thrown away.”

Police will allege Mr Torney and Ms Bates were neighbours and had previously been in a relationship.

According to court documents, it will be alleged Ms Bates had made contact with police prior to her death.

Mr Torney was remanded into custody ahead of a committal mention on March 19.