By Lachlan Abbott and David Estcourt
Emma Bates dedicated her life to helping others but died alone on the floor of her Cobram home after allegedly being bashed by a neighbour.
Her shattered family says the devoted aunt of 17 had a big heart that brought her into the orbit of a man who wished her harm – and it’s an all-too-familiar situation.
Emma Bates died in Cobram on Tuesday.
“Violence against women is not going away,” her sister, Louise Hayes, said.
“We need, as a community, to make sure all women and children are safe. The bruise from a beating can be seen. The bruises so many carry on the inside from verbal, physical, financial abuse is where – as a community – we need to make sure everyone knows they are not OK.”
Bates, 49, whose maiden name was Cocking, was found dead in her Campbell Road home near the NSW-Victoria border about 2.15pm on Tuesday with injuries consistent with being assaulted.
John Torney, who was acquitted of murdering a toddler in 2015, was arrested later that day and charged with intentionally causing injury, recklessly causing injury, common law assault, aggravated assault of a female and unlawful assault.
Hayes said police told the family that murder or manslaughter charges were “off the table” after an early postmortem examination was inconclusive about Bates’ cause of death.
She said the examination could not confirm whether Bates’ injuries caused her death, or whether her illnesses had played a part.
“The family are not angry with police; they can only do what the law allows,” Hayes said. She said the family hoped the outcome of a court case would reflect all the circumstances around her sister’s death.
The police investigation is ongoing, but it may take weeks before the final test results are received.
Cobram locals lay flowers outside Emma Bates’ home on Thursday.Credit: Justin McManus
“As the matter is now before the courts, we are unable to comment further,” a police spokeswoman said.
The wider Cocking family said in a statement that Bates, the fourth of seven children, was a type 1 diabetic who used a mobility scooter and was frequently hospitalised.
“It’s tragic that her big heart has led her to a friendship with a man who wished her harm. No one deserves that.”
Bates and her husband, Wayne, had recently decided on a short-term separation, Hayes said. She described Wayne as “very distraught and a much-loved member of our family”. They say Bates was nothing more than a neighbour to Torney.
John Torney when he was released after his trial in 2016.Credit: Sunraysia Daily
“Emma ... before recently, didn’t like him based on what she was told,” Hayes said. “They were warned by letter when he moved in by a relative of his, as were other neighbours.”
Bates’ family said she had “the biggest heart of anyone we know”.
“She was always helping someone. Dropping in food for an elderly neighbour. Giving lifts to people who needed it. The list goes on,” the family said.
“She was the crazy cat lady aunt. She had her rescues that she treated like her babies. Her home decor was all cat-inspired. Emma wasn’t blessed with children but was a proud aunty to her 17 nieces and nephews. They were her pride and joy and she would spend hours talking about them to everyone. She had many of their faces tattooed to her leg, so she could carry them with her always.”
Criminal barrister Tim Marsh said based on the complicated nature of the case, and information currently publicly available as of early Thursday afternoon, investigators may have trouble proving intent.
“The elements of murder include, firstly, that the person consciously, voluntarily and deliberately committed an act or acts which caused the death of the victim, that’s the causation aspect, and secondly, that at the time of committing those acts, they did so with the intention of killing the victim or causing really serious injury,” he said.
“The facts appear complicated; at one end of the spectrum, it’s easy to come up with a scenario where we say, person A did a thing and that thing caused person B’s death.
“We could look at stabbing or shooting or beating and we can say prior to that thing happening the victim was in fine health, and person A’s actions caused that death ... where it gets more complicated is in these sort of edge cases where there are numerous factors which contributed to someone’s death.”
Flowers outside Emma Bates home.Credit: Justin McManus
Torney was remanded to face Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
Karen Walsh, a nearby resident who laid flowers outside Bates’ home on Thursday, said she didn’t know the 49-year-old, but she now felt more unsafe.
“I just can’t believe that this could happen in Cobram,” Walsh said. “I’m just heartbroken with what has happened and just sad about the situation.”
Bates is the 26th woman to die in allegedly violent circumstances in Australia so far this year, based on a tally from the research group Counting Dead Women Australia.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
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