An Englishman with an "obsession" for his Australian Airbnb host has been found guilty of manslaughter, rather than murder, after killing her and setting fire to her home with her body inside. Timothy Loosemore, 62, killed surveyor Maree Vermont, 60, at her self-built home in rural Victoria in August 2023, but the severity of the fire meant forensic experts could not determine her exact cause of death, leaving two separate juries unable to convict him of murder. The case matters because it shows how destroying evidence through arson can complicate prosecutors' ability to prove intent, even amid strong signs of a violent struggle.

Prosecutors said Loosemore, who had stayed on and off at Ms Vermont's home near Melbourne since March 2023 after a brief sexual relationship soured, "snapped" when she repeatedly rejected him, attacking her before setting the house alight to cover it up. Her blood was found on his clothing, he bore scratches to his face and neck consistent with her fighting back, and her body was discovered face down near three kitchen knives, despite five accessible exits she never used. Forensic tests found no soot in her airways and no carbon monoxide in her blood, suggesting she was likely already dead when the fire, apparently accelerated with petrol, was started. Loosemore has now been convicted of manslaughter following his second trial and faces a pre-sentence hearing.