After Maree Vermont’s Airbnb was consumed by fire and her remains were left so badly burned they could not be identified, the man staying in her home raised a question with police that investigators did not expect.

Only hours before, flames had torn through Ms Vermont’s property. Timothy Loosemore, a 62-year-old Englishman, told authorities he had survived because he had been away from the house, taking “a walk to gather firewood”.

Loosemore had been renting one of the spare rooms at Ms Vermont’s home in Goldie, about 70km north of Melbourne, through Airbnb.

The house was more than just a rental listing for the 60-year-old. A surveyor by profession, Ms Vermont had spent around 30 years carefully creating the property with her former husband, and it was regarded as her pride and joy.

But Loosemore was not merely a short-term guest. The court heard he had previously been involved in a “casual relationship” with Ms Vermont — and had hoped it would become something more serious.

After the blaze, he was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital, and as he was being treated by medical staff, police arrived to quiz him about the tragedy.

But Loosemore had some questions of his own, and his first was not about the fate of Ms Vermont – but her dog Maxie. 

‘Who’s looking after Maxie?’ Loosemore asked, as captured in footage from the officer’s body-worn camera, and played back in court.

‘I don’t know,’ the officer replied. ‘Who normally looks after him?’ 

‘Normally Maree,’ Loosemore said. ‘He’s 14 years old so he’s got some dental problems so he’s not a well dog … I suppose Maree’s looking after him?’

It was only then that Loosemore asked: ‘Is Maree all right? Is she?’ 

The court heard Loosemore even expressed more concern for his bicycle than the woman he had killed and may even have burnt alive. 

Pictures from the crime scene reveal a sinister kitchen knife blackened with soot among the charred remains inside the cottage where Ms Vermont died.

Forensics later found DNA traces on Ms Vermont’s blood on Loosemore’s clothes. Everything inside, including Ms Vermont’s body, was burnt beyond recognition. 

Nearby lay fuel canisters he was suspected of using to trigger the fatal blaze. 

Her ornate iron spiral staircase could also be seen lying on the ground, twisted out of shape by the intense heat of the inferno.

During a pre-sentence hearing on Thursday, Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Andrew Tinney said Loosemore showed little concern in the hours after Ms Vermont’s death. 

‘His only concern was for himself and his bicycle and his other possessions,’ he said. ‘That struck me as being somewhat unnerving.

‘Here he was, a person who claimed to be innocent, who had been involved in a relationship of sorts with Ms Vermont, and he knew that the house was on fire and that she was inside the house.’ 

The impact of that fire on Ms Vermont’s body made it impossible for forensic experts to determine her cause of death.

As a result, two Supreme Court of Victoria juries were unable to conclude she had been murdered.

Instead, Loosemore will be sentenced on Friday for Ms Vermont’s manslaughter. 

Crown prosecutor Mark Gibson, KC, told the jury Loosemore ‘snapped’ when his pleas for an intimate relationship were repeatedly rejected by Ms Vermont, after an earlier ‘brief sexual dalliance’. 

Mr Gibson said Loosemore violently assaulted Ms Vermont before he covered up the crime by starting the fire.

‘He did something horrific to Maree Vermont,’ he told the court. ‘Something he needed to conceal from the world.

‘That something was him physically attacking Maree inside that house during which he killed Maree Vermont. An attack with murderous intent.’

Ms Vermont’s blood was later found all over Loosemore’s pants and T-shirt, and the jury heard Ms Vermont had fought desperately for her life.

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Her body was found face down in the living room, where three kitchen knives were also discovered.

She never left the house despite five easily accessible exits – and even the dog Maxie escaped.

The jury heard the severity of the inferno was consistent with flammable liquid having been spread, with petrol components detected on a mat and blanket in the house.

Moderately evaporated petrol was also found on Loosemore’s clothing and shoes.

‘It’s a very interesting situation. There were those knives there and there is the fact that she bled profusely,’ Justice Tinney noted. 

‘Obviously when she’s close to him because it got on his clothing. 

‘Because he has never told the truth about what occurred, the mechanism of the actual death will remain unclear to everyone other than Mr Loosemore.’

The DNA blood evidence was not shown to the first jury – which deliberated its verdict for three weeks before they were discharged – because of a ‘workload issue’ at Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.

The second jury heard Loosemore’s lucid recollections of what happened that night in the hours immediately after the fire.

But the court also heard he later suffered near-total amnesia when questioned by Homicide Squad detectives and forensic doctors. 

In the aftermath of the fire, Loosemore gave several accounts of events in conversations with neighbours, paramedics, police and a doctor. 

He told them he had briefly left the house and returned to find it ablaze.

He told neighbour Peter Greenham he had a ‘small argument’ with Ms Vermont, that he went outside to get some wood, and when he came back the fire was too hot to handle. 

Another neighbour, Kynan Share, was given a similar story before Loosemore added: ‘When I’ve come back, the whole place went up.’

But he claimed to another neighbour he had been upstairs asleep, got up to put wood on the fire, and found the house fully alight on his return.

Defence barrister Christopher Farrington told the court Loosemore had been consistent that he had ‘no memory of what took place’, which is why he took no responsibility or showed remorse.

‘Isn’t it all much more consistent with a person who has simply been refusing to tell the truth about what occurred?’ the judge asked Mr Farrington.

Mr Farrington told the court Loosemore was born in Somerset in the United Kingdom and raised in a small rural farming community.

He worked in road construction before establishing his own civil construction business, which operated for about 11 years and at times involved more than 40 workers on roads and bridges. 

Changes in UK employment law led to the business being wound up and he later worked as a sole operator.

The court heard Loosemore had been married twice, with three children from his second marriage, who now live in the UK.

The family lived in Western Australia around 2004-2007 and became Australian citizens before later returning to the UK. 

Loosemore had not been in full-time employment since about 2004, living off investments from the sale of his successful business.

In September 2022, he returned to Australia with his son for a cycling trip around the country. 

After his son left, Loosemore continued alone, staying at farmstay properties where he performed work in exchange for board and food, and Ms Vermont’s property was one of those.

The court heard he had no prior criminal history and people who knew him before the incident, including some of Ms Vermont’s friends and family, described him as polite, calm and helpful. 

On Thursday, Ms Vermont’s loved ones packed the court to confront Loosemore and express the impact his actions had on their lives. 

Outside court, her three sons described their mother as a very peaceful, loving and caring person.

‘It’s a very hard day,’ Darcy Vermont told reporters.

‘But it’s bringing some sense of closure to be able to get up in court and have our voices heard.’

A GP widely known by critics as “Doctor Death” did not bring his so-called “suicide collar” into the UK after raising concerns that border officials could confiscate it.

Dr Philip Nitschke, a highly divisive figure in the assisted dying debate, said he chose to leave the device in Holland before travelling to Britain for a speaking engagement, fearing it might be seized by customs.

His visit had already prompted a backlash, with MPs and campaigners urging Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to block Dr Nitschke from entering the country altogether.

The Australian doctor had been expected to stage a live demonstration of the Kairos “suicide collar” during an event in London on Saturday.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail at the packed gathering, Dr Nitschke appeared in Britain just six days before MPs are due to vote at Second Reading on Lauren Edwards’ revived assisted dying Bill.

He was on stage at an Exit Workshop in west London, which was packed, with almost every seat taken by a largely elderly audience who were considering assisted suicide.

Dr Nitschke, the controversial founder of Swiss euthanasia organisation Exit International, defended the device.

The collar, called ‘Kairos’, consists of two balloons that exert pressure on the carotid artery, leading first to unconsciousness and then to death.

Earlier this year, Dr Nitschke said that he would conduct the first assisted suicide using the collar on a woman in Switzerland who would be his first ‘test subject’.

Devices could be legal to use for assisted suicides here if new Bill passes.

He told the Daily Mail: ‘I have left the device in the Netherlands. I feared it would be stopped at customs. We are under pressure from authorities about what they call “giving dangerous information to vulnerable people”.

‘It’s a difficult environment.

‘The device is not expensive to make but we are currently in the testing phase and it would be a real setback to lose it.’

Dr Nitschk shrugged off the controversy around his visit and the device itself.

He said that the interest in his device and the visit to London was the result of the political deadlock over legalising assisted dying.

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He said: ‘People are a little worried or frustrated by the slow pace of legislated change in the country. So they often look around and ask what else is available.’

Carlos Cabrera, a representative from the Swiss euthanasia clinic, Athanasios, also spoke at the event, explaining the process of an assisted suicide in the country.

He said: ‘The Swiss have a unique law and don’t restrict it to just Swiss nationals.

‘Switzerland lets other people benefit from this very progressive legislation.

‘When you touch the ground in Switzerland you have indirectly or directly the right to die.

‘We support people to die without selfish intentions.’

Under Swiss law, there are few restrictions on undergoing an assisted death, with a terminal condition not being a requirement.

‘When you have the mental capacity to leave this world, you can do it,’ Cabrera says.

Mr Cabrera told the Mail that between 40 and 60 people from the UK have chosen to end their lives through his organisation.

One relative of a person considering using the device, said: ‘My main concern about all of this is what would happen to us when we returned to Britain. What legal consequences would there be for going to Switzerland with them?’

But Mr Cabrera explained that he has never seen problems with family members being prosecuted.

‘All information on what happens in Switzerland, stays in Switzerland. We cannot give information to UK authorities.’

After the discussion about the option of travelling to Switzerland, many in the audience stayed on for a ‘do-it-yourself guide’ to assisted suicide given by Nitschke.

Participants had to sign waivers to declare that they had not been influenced by Nitschke in order to take part in the talk.

• For help and support, contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or go to samaritans.org

A public memorial will be held for much-loved Bondi Rescue star Matt Dee after his tragic death last week.

Friends, former workmates and members of Sydney’s close surf community are set to gather to farewell the respected lifeguard and reality television personality.

Dee’s ashes will be scattered at Bronte Beach next Saturday, September 12, as part of a special celebration of life in his honour.

News of the former lifeguard’s death stunned the beach community last week and sparked an emotional wave of tributes.

The memorial will give those closest to Dee an opportunity to come together at one of the Sydney beaches he cherished and celebrate the life he lived.

The memorial will begin at midday, with mourners encouraged to paddle out into the water as Dee’s ashes are spread.

Afterwards, friends and family will gather for food, drinks, music and a chance to share their favourite memories of Dee.

For those who knew Dee, it will be a chance not only to mourn his loss, but to celebrate the laughter, friendships and memories he leaves behind. 

The North Maroubra Surf Riders announced the memorial online.

‘Next Saturday, we send off a true legend,’ the group wrote.

‘A man that had time for everyone, a larrikin, a brother to all and a leader of men.

‘His time with us has come to an end, but we owe it to him to send him off in style.’

On Wednesday, Dee’s death was announced on his Instagram account.

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‘Matt touched the lives of many,’ the heartbreaking post said.

‘He also did amazing work, and he will be deeply missed and forever remembered by those who knew and loved him.’ 

The devastating news has since prompted an emotional wave of tributes from Dee’s friends and former Bondi Rescue colleagues, who have been remembering the man behind the lifeguard tower.

The popular lifeguard was a familiar face on Bondi Rescue for almost a decade, appearing on the show from 2008 until 2017.

Away from the cameras, Dee dedicated much of his time to helping others, co-founding non-profit organisation FTW Revolution and working to raise awareness around mental health.

He was also a Suicide Prevention Australia advocate.

The reality TV personality became a passionate mental health ambassador after losing both his brother and sister within a year, following their struggles with mental health.

His younger sister, Rachel Bridger Dee, died aged 30 in December 2009, following a decade-long battle with schizophrenia.

His older brother Jonathan had bipolar disorder and died several months earlier.

The Bondi Rescue star and his siblings grew up in a tight-knit family, being raised by their single mother in Melbourne.

If you or anyone you know needs immediate support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via lifeline.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.

Australians who burn the national flag or deface war memorials could face prison under a new Coalition proposal that would also raise the bar for any future move to shift Australia Day from January 26.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor announced the proposed Australian National Symbols and Heritage Protection Bill on Sunday, saying the nation’s key symbols, commemorative sites and historic memorials deserve tougher protections in federal law.

Under the plan, a new Commonwealth offence would apply to the serious public desecration of the Australian flag in cases where a person is reckless about whether their conduct could incite hatred or violence, threaten public order or trigger a public disturbance.

‘People are welcome to make political statements on Australia and they can criticise Australia all they like but burning the flag goes a step further,’ Taylor told news24.

‘It is a symbol, it is part of our nation and our heritage that really matters. And I know Australians feel very strongly about this.’

‘To see it being burnt is unacceptable to most Australians and certainly unacceptable to me. And I think it’s appropriate that a penalty of up to a year imprisonment is established.’

The Coalition would also introduce tough new federal offences carrying jail terms for deliberately damaging, defacing or desecrating war memorials, statues, plaques and other monuments honouring Australia’s history.

The announcement follows a string of incidents across Victoria and Queensland in recent months. 

In western Victoria, a war memorial in Dobie was vandalised, with a plaque honouring local veterans stolen, political graffiti sprayed across the site and surrounding vegetation damaged.

The attack came just weeks after vandals struck the century-old Beaufort war memorial, painting slogans such as ‘death to Australia’ and ‘death to the ADF’ on the monument.

Earlier this year, Melbourne’s 155-year-old Pioneer Monument in Flagstaff Gardens was also vandalised and covered with anti-Australian graffiti.

On Australia Day, an Australian flag was set alight during an ‘Invasion Day’ protest in Brisbane.

Taylor said Australians were becoming increasingly frustrated by attacks on national symbols and memorials.

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‘Australians are rightly proud of our country, its history and what generations of Australians have built together,’ he said.

‘Our flag represents the country we love. Our war memorials honour Australians who put their lives on the line for us. And Australia Day is our national day that unites us all.’

He said the Coalition would not allow important national symbols to be diminished.

‘These things belong to the Australian people and they should not be torn down, smashed, desecrated, or quietly stripped of their significance,’ Taylor said.

‘The Coalition will protect these symbols and memorials and we won’t be shy in standing up for the national pride that we should all feel for our great country.’

The legislation would also entrench Australia Day on January 26 in Commonwealth law, meaning any future change would require approval through a national plebiscite.

Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash argued the reforms would strike a balance between free speech and protecting national heritage.

‘Freedom of speech is fundamental in Australia, but freedom of speech does not mean freedom to destroy,’ Cash said.

‘There is a clear difference between making a political argument and taking a can of spray paint to the names of Australians who fought and died for this country.’

Shadow minister and Army veteran Phillip Thompson said attacks on war memorials deeply affected veterans, serving personnel and their families.

‘When someone paints “death to the ADF” across a war memorial, Australians know instinctively that something is badly wrong,’ he said.

‘Those memorials carry the names of ordinary Australians who left their homes, their families and their communities to serve our country. Many never came home.

‘We will make sure there are real consequences.’

The Coalition has yet to release the full details of the proposed penalties, but says the new laws would provide stronger protections for Australia’s flag, war memorials, monuments, plaques and other sites of national significance.