Cobram man John Torney has been charged with assault and causing injury by police investigating the death of a 49-year-old woman in the northern Victorian town.
Torney, 39, was on Wednesday evening charged with intentionally causing injury, recklessly causing injury, common law assault, aggravated assault of a female and unlawful assault.
The charges relate to the investigation into the death of Emma Bates, 49, whose body found at a property on Tuesday.
He was expected to face an out of sessions court hearing late on Wednesday, and is due to appear at the Shepparton magistrates court on Friday.
Police said on Wednesday that emergency services were called to an address on Campbell Road in Cobram, near the border between Victoria and New South Wales, at about 2.15pm on Tuesday. Bates was found dead at the property.
Neighbours were still coming to terms with Bates’ death, with the daughter of one describing her as having “a huge heart, was warm and loving” and telling reporters: “I’m in total shock that something like this could happen to such a beautiful soul.”
On Wednesday evening, police said detectives from Cobram’s crime investigation unit were working to establish the circumstances around the woman’s death.
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, told reporters on Wednesday that it was“difficult for me to comment in terms of this particular instance or the particular circumstances around that incident where another woman has lost her life”.
“But in the broader context, over the course of this year, we have seen too many women already in 2024 lose their life,” Allan said.
“This has to stop.”
She said governments needed to “look at our legal systems, and how we can strengthen the supports for women”.