Man jailed for 17 years over manslaughter of Victorian Airbnb owner

A 63-year-old man from the UK has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for the manslaughter of a 60-year-old Victorian Airbnb owner and the arson of her home.

Maree Vermont's body was found in the ashes of her hand-built stone house at Goldie, near Kilmore, in 2023. Timothy Loosemore was found guilty of manslaughter by a Supreme Court jury in June.

Justice Andrew Tinney said in the Supreme Court that Loosemore had shown no remorse for his actions and had been unwilling to accept romantic rejection. "Maree Vermont was a person who had shown you considerable kindness," Justice Tinney said. "You repaid her kindness by killing her."

The court heard that Loosemore had stayed at Ms Vermont's property through Airbnb before staying on in a farmstay arrangement, working around the property in exchange for food and board. However, Ms Vermont had made it clear she did not want an intimate relationship with him, texting her son Darcy days before her death: "I made it clear that I don't want an intimate relationship with him. He is taking it badly."

Justice Tinney described the assault and death of Ms Vermont as a "heartless and terrible act." He said Loosemore had taken the "shocking step" of using petrol to set fire to the house and destroy evidence of what he had done.

More than a dozen family and friends of Ms Vermont, wearing badges with a photo of her and a sunflower, packed into the courtroom. Her son, Darcy Vermont, said there was "a sense of relief" that 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.

Loosemore will be eligible for parole in 10 years. He did not visibly react to the sentence in court.