Echuca man Daniel Oberin has died before manslaughter trial

An Echuca man accused of being involved in the shooting of a man he thought had had an affair with his ex has died.

Daniel Oberin, charged over the shooting death of Matt Alexander in Cohuna, has died before his trial.

A man who was set to fight a manslaughter charge over the fatal shooting of a man near Cohuna three years ago has died.

It's understood Daniel Karl Oberin — who made headlines for his alleged involvement in the violent confrontation and shooting of Matthew Alexander in September 2019 — died almost a fortnight ago.

The 31-year-old’s funeral was hosted in Echuca on Monday.

The prosecution handling the case has previously alleged Mr Alexander, 29, had been working on a car with two mates when Mr Oberin and a co-accused, Kevin Johnson, allegedly showed up at his Daltons Bridge property.

The co-accused allegedly brandished a single barrel sawn-off shotgun, which he fired into the air before yelling at the men to get onto the ground.

According to court documents, the prosecution alleged Mr Oberin was in a shed fiddling with a hard drive connected to the property’s CCTV cameras when the co-accused allegedly shot Mr Alexander in the head.

While committed to stand trial on a murder charge in April 2021, Mr Oberin’s charge was downgraded to manslaughter last October.

Matt Alexander, 29, was gunned down outside his home in Cohuna on September 14, 2019.

In January this year his defence applied for him to be granted bail due to compelling reasons.

During this Supreme Court hearing the prosecution alleged Mr Oberin “harboured animosity” for Mr Alexander as he believed he was in possession of property that had been stolen from him and because he had had an affair with his former partner.

Considering whether bail should be granted, Justice Priest found it “difficult to see a viable case of manslaughter” against Mr Oberin, adding the case against him was “very weak”.

“So it presently seems to me, the applicant could only attract criminal liability… if he had intentionally assisted, encouraged or directed the commission of the offence of murder, or had entered into an agreement, arrangement of understanding to commit [it].”

Mr Oberin – a builder and carpenter – was granted bail due to having no relevant criminal history, a history of stable self-employment, family support and a stable residence.

His mother provided a $10,000 surety to the court to secure his release.

Mr Oberin’s manslaughter trial was due to commence in the Supreme Court at Bendigo in May this year but was adjourned to November.

It was expected to last about four weeks.

The Office of Public Prosecutions has been contacted for comment.