‘He’s a monster’: Harrowing details of Emma Bates’ final days alive

Warning graphic and distressing content

Days before Emma Bates was found dead in her Cobram home, the man accused of violently assaulting her said he was going to “chop her body up into bits and pieces” and force his sibling to bury her remains in the bush.

Bates’ distressing final days were aired in court on Thursday, as her grieving family watched on, while 40-year-old John Torney fought to be freed on bail.

Shepparton Magistrates’ Court was told that about 3pm on April 20 this year, three days before Bates was found dead, Torney’s brother and mother, who lived next door, could hear him arguing with her.

Concerned for Bates’ safety, the brother went to her house, where he found her with a bloodied and swollen lip and Torney yelling at her. He later alleged to police that Torney had told him he had punched Bates in the face.

The court heard Bates asked the man not to leave her alone with Torney.

Torney then allegedly threatened his sibling, telling him he would “chop Bates up” and make him bury “the bits and pieces of her body in the bush”.

He also allegedly held a bottle of scotch in the air and threatened to break her jaw, the court heard.

Torney – who was found not guilty of the murder of two-year-old Nikki Francis Coslovich in Mildura in 2015 – has been charged with a series of assault-related offences in connection with Bates’ death. He intends to argue self-defence.

The court heard Torney’s brother feared for Bates’ safety, and told her he was going to call police, but she asked him not to.

Later that day, Bates and Torney were seen at the local shops, with a shopkeeper noting Bates had a big, black bruise on her face and others in the main street noticing she had scratches around her nose and lips. Police say this was the last time she was seen alive.

The following evening, during a car trip with his mother, Torney allegedly said Bates was unwell and not waking up.

His mother said he should call an ambulance and asked whether Bates’ skin was warm or cold. Torney allegedly responded: “She’s not dead. She’s breathing.”

Torney allegedly said he did not want to call an ambulance because he had punched Bates in the forehead several times, leaving her with marks on her face, the court heard.

His mother allegedly said he was “better off being charged with punching her rather than with her murder”.

The following night, Torney called his mother and said he could not rouse Bates. The court heard his mother did not trust him to call an ambulance, so she called the police herself.

Bates, who was a type 1 diabetic, was found dead in her bedroom inside her home in Cobram – 220 kilometres north of Melbourne, near the NSW-Victoria border – on April 23.

Police broke into Bates’ house through a back window and found her dead in her bed.

She had bruising and a lump under her left eye, a large gash on the top of her head and cuts on her nose, documents submitted to the court said.

The hearing was told Torney’s family was so fearful of him that if he was freed on bail they intended to go on the run.

His mother allegedly told police: “People say I’m making him out to be a monster … that’s because he is a monster.”

Defence barrister Nelson Brown said Torney was vulnerable in custody because he was Indigenous, had been diagnosed with depression and had a drug addiction.

Magistrate Simon Zebrowski refused bail, saying Torney was an unacceptable risk due to his long history of violent offending and breaching court orders.

Torney had moved into Bates’ house in the weeks before she died after being kicked out of his mother’s house.

Bates’ family were told earlier this year that Torney would not be charged with murder or manslaughter after an autopsy could not find a conclusive cause of her death.

Bates was regularly hospitalised with diabetes, and the disease rendered her unable to work. She also required a mobility scooter and walking cane to get around.

Bates’ heartbroken family have remembered her as a loving and kind person, who always saw the good in people. They said her pride and joy were her 17 nieces and nephews, whose names and faces she had tattooed across her legs, so she could carry them with her always.

In the days after Bates’ death, hundreds of locals took to the streets in a display of collective grief, demanding greater action on the growing epidemic of women killed in violent attacks across Australia.

The matter will go back to court later this year.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.