A grieving son has revealed the chilling lead-up to his mother’s brutal death, and how a Good Samaritan Airbnb lodger turned out to be a guest from hell.
asserted
lodger → grieve → hell
Maree Vermont, 60, was brutally killed by Timothy Loosemore, 62, after he became obsessed with her - but she turned him down.
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she → kill → him
He killed her in a fit of rage, then torched the home and left her body so badly charred, forensic experts were unable to say exactly how she died.
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she → kill → body
Now her son, Darcy Vermont has spoken to Daily Mail's The Trial Australia podcast about the man who refused to take no for an answer.
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who → speak → answer
His mum, a surveyor, spent 30 years pouring her heart into transforming a bare block of wilderness into a beautiful stone house nestled in a remote Victorian valley.
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mum → spend → valley
'I feel like I had a very lucky, idyllic upbringing,' Darcy told the podcast.
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Darcy → feel → podcast
'We grew up on a farm in the country, we had a lot of exposure to the outdoors, lots of family time.
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we → grow → time
She was a stay-home mum, so she was with us all the time.
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she → stay → us
'She was super caring, kind and giving and I’m very grateful - even today - of everything that she’s done for us.
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she → ’m → us
The property, known as The Stone House, sits about an hour north of Melbourne, up in a valley on Mount William near the tiny town of Goldie.
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property → know → Goldie
'It feels very isolated.
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It → feel → ?
It feels a long way from the city, but it’s not that far to get in,' Darcy said.
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Darcy → feel → city
'We grew up without internet, without television, without cell phone reception ... it felt very, very sort of hidden away.'
His parents bought the vacant block in 1985, living in a caravan, then a shed, while they built fences, roads, dams and planted trees.
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they → grow → trees
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Maree Vermont had showed her killer nothing but kindness
Maree Vermont, 60, was brutally killed by Timothy Loosemore, 62, (pictured) after he became obsessed with her - but she turned him down
Maree Vermont's previous stone house, which she had spent much of her life perfecting
'I’ve lived here my whole life and watched the whole property evolve as we've grown up into the beautiful place that it is now,' Darcy said.
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Darcy → need → place
A skilled draftsperson and leadlighter who cut and made glass windows, she was also, Darcy believes, 'the first ever woman to be a surveyor in Victoria'.
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Darcy → cut → Victoria
Maree copped a lot of pushback building her dream family home.
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Maree → cop → home
Workmen would try to load her up with heavy gear to prove that she couldn’t do it, Darcy recalled.
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Darcy → try → it
'Time and time again she proved that she was more than capable,' he said.
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he → prove → ?
After the stonework on the house was finished she threw herself into the fitout - glass, timber, painting - turning the home into a beautiful space she kept meticulously tidy and organised.
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she → finish → space
Darcy's parents separated about six years earlier and were still sorting the final details while Maree kept the property and continued to chip away at the project.
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Maree → separate → project
Darcy had moved out for university but still kept a base there in a shed with his tools.
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Darcy → move → tools
Money was tight, and Maree and her family offered a spare room for Airbnb guests as they looked for ways to make the land help pay for itself.
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land → offer → itself
Timothy Loosemore was among her first guests when he arrived in mid-March 2023.
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he → arrive → March
The 62-year-old, from Somerset in the UK, stayed briefly, left, then later returned wanting to stay even longer, and offered to work in exchange for food and a roof.
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old → stay → food
Timothy Loosemore could not handle rejection.
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Loosemore → handle → rejection
When Maree Vermont suggested he get back on his bike, he killed her and torched her house and body beyond all recognition
Darcy Vermont's gripping interview can be heard on The Daily Mail's Trial Australia podcast
The gutted remains of Maree Vermont's home after Timothy Loosemore torched it to hide his vile deed
Darcy saw no reason to worry, he said.
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he → suggest → reason
'When I was growing up, we had a lot of people coming and helping,' he told the podcast.
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he → grow → podcast
'It was not uncommon that we’d have people come and stay to help out, I wasn’t concerned.
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I → have → ?
It was good to see that more could be done without stressing mum out because she was financially stressed.
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she → see → mum
'
But that relationship had clearly shifted when Darcy spotted his mother and Loosemore had become noticeably closer than a simple 'helper' arrangement.
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mother → shift → arrangement
His mother eventually told him they had 'a bit of a thing sometimes', but he said she was crystal clear about her boundaries.
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she → tell → boundaries
'After the years of her last marriage breakdown, she wanted her independence, she was happy with her independence and she was very strong in herself,' Darcy said.
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Darcy → want → herself
While alarm bells weren't ringing, Darcy could tell Loosemore had his demons.
uncertain
Loosemore → ring → demons
'He was insecure in the ways that he would not take rejection well.
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he → take → rejection
He didn’t like to be told that he wasn’t needed,' he said.
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he → like → ?
When Maree told him she did not need him there, that he should only stay if he wanted to help, he pushed back.
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he → tell → him
And when she urged Loosemore to leave, he reacted badly.
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he → urge → Loosemore
Darcy returned to find him still there.
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Darcy → return → ?
'It was strange to see that he was still there.
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he → see → ?
It felt like he’s lingering,' he said.
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he → feel → ?
…and 51 more, not listed.
The Aporia
