Timothy Loosemore, a 63-year-old man from the UK, has been jailed for 17 years for killing Maree Vermont, a 60-year-old Victorian Airbnb owner. He had stayed at her rural property through a farmstay arrangement before assaulting and killing her in 2023. A Supreme Court jury found Loosemore guilty of manslaughter in June, with evidence showing he used petrol to burn down the house to destroy the crime scene. Loosemore will be eligible for parole in 10 years, having already spent more than three years in custody.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Timothy Loosemore, a 63-year-old man from the UK, has been jailed for 17 years for killing Maree Vermont, a 60-year-old Victorian Airbnb owner, in 2023. Loosemore had come to stay at Vermont's rural home near Kilmore through a farmstay arrangement on Airbnb, where he worked in exchange for food and board. After Vermont rejected his romantic advances, Loosemore killed her and then burned down her hand-built stone house to destroy the crime scene. The remains of Vermont were found in the ashes of her home. Loosemore had already spent over three years in custody before being sentenced by a Supreme Court jury in June.
Written for “Farm Murder and Arson Case” on 2026-09-12,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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No political leaning scored for article 8019 · logged 2026-09-11
In short:
Timothy Loosemore has been jailed for 17 years over the manslaughter of Maree Vermont in 2023.
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Loosemore → jail → 2023
The 63-year-old from the UK killed Ms Vermont then burnt down her rural Victorian home to destroy the crime scene.
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old → kill → scene
Loosemore has already spent more than three years in custody.
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Loosemore → spend → custody
A man has been jailed for 17 years for killing a 60-year-old Victorian Airbnb owner and burning down her home to destroy the crime scene.
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man → jail → scene
Maree Vermont's remains were found in the ashes of her hand-built stone house at Goldie, near Kilmore, central Victoria, in 2023.
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remains → find → 2023
Timothy Loosemore, a 63-year-old from the UK, was found guilty of manslaughter by a Supreme Court jury in June.
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Loosemore → find → June
He had come to the stone house through Airbnb before staying on in a farmstay arrangement, working around the property in exchange for food and board.
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He → come → food
"Maree Vermont was a person who had shown you considerable kindness," Justice Andrew Tinney said in the Supreme Court.
"
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Tinney → show → Court
You repaid her kindness by killing her."
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You → repay → her
Justice Tinney found Loosemore assaulted Ms Vermont, resulting in her death, then took the "shocking step" of using petrol to set fire to the house and destroy evidence of what he had done.
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he → find → what
"This was a heartless and terrible act," he said.
"
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he → say → ?
She was unlucky enough to have fate bring you to her door and into her home.
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fate → have → home
"You became resentful towards her because she did not reciprocate your feelings."
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she → become → feelings
He said Loosemore was "another example of an aggrieved and angry male being unwilling or unable to accept" romantic rejection and had shown no remorse for her death.
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Loosemore → say → death
More than a dozen family and friends wearing badges with a photo of Ms Vermont and a sunflower packed into the courtroom.
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family → wear → courtroom
Loosemore, who will be eligible for parole in 10 years, did not visibly react to the sentence in court.
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who → react → court
Speaking outside court, Ms Vermont's son, Darcy Vermont, said there was "a sense of relief" that the court process was over.
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process → speak → relief
"It's never enough to represent what's been taken, but we got the best sentence we could get," he said.
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he → represent → sentence
'He is taking it badly'
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He → take → it
Days before she was killed, Ms Vermont texted her son Darcy, who was staying with her at the time, asking him to keep an eye on her farmstay guest.
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who → kill → guest
"I made it clear that I don't want an intimate relationship with him.
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I → make → him
He is taking it badly," Ms Vermont texted.
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Vermont → take → it
A trial last year resulted in a hung jury after weeks of deliberations.
The court has heard that the trial did not include the DNA evidence finding Ms Vermont's blood on pants Loosemore was wearing on the night of the fire, due to a workload issue at The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.
Ms Vermont's sons told the court last week of the agony of not knowing their mother's final moments.
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sons → result → moments
The brothers have moved back to the family farm where their parents, who had separated, spent decades building the stone house where their mum was killed.
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mum → move → house
"There will always be things I want to tell her, moments I want to share, a goodbye I never got to say, a final hug before she was taken away.
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she → want → her
I will miss her for the rest of my life," Lachlan Vermont previously told the court.
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Vermont → miss → court
Ms Vermont's sons told the ABC their mother listed her spare room on Airbnb to make extra income and have help around the rural property.
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mother → tell → property
She was working part-time at a pharmacy in Kilmore.
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She → work → Kilmore
Loosemore, who is also an Australian citizen, arrived in Australia for a cycling trip with his son in 2022 before continuing to travel alone.
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who → arrive → 2022