source : the age
A man accused of killing an elderly woman after a dispute at a local pool is facing new charges as he awaits a hospital assessment of his mental health.
Brian Barnes, 67, repeatedly interrupted a hearing at Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday where he appeared via video link with cuts on his face and a Band-Aid on his nose.
Merril Kelly was an active member of the Quambatook community.
Barnes was arrested in January and charged with the alleged murder of much-loved community volunteer Merril Kelly, 76, in the tiny town of Quambatook in Victoria’s north-west.
Kelly’s burnt remains were discovered on January 22 by authorities near the old Quambatook cemetery after firefighters were called to a grassfire near Cemetery Road.
The court heard Barnes had been transferred to the Thomas Embling Hospital in Fairfield last week, which cares for mental health patients in the criminal justice system, for “involuntary treatment”.
Barnes interjected at one point to tell the magistrate: “There is nothing wrong with me.”
Brian Barnes faced court on Thursday accused of murder.
Prosecutor Amanda Vasiliou said Barnes was facing fresh charges involving allegations of an assault in custody.
She asked for the case to be adjourned for two months, while Barnes receives treatment in the psychiatric hospital.
“Our latest advice is that the medical examiner’s report will have some bearing in this case,” she said.
“The applications were made at the earliest possible opportunity. They’ve been flagged appropriately as urgent for a matter of this kind.”
Barnes’ lawyer, Tim Marsh, supported the adjournment.
“There may be some benefit in there being something of a hiatus in the progression of this case while he gets better,” Marsh said.
At another point during the brief hearing, Barnes complained that the legal team representing him prior to Marsh had not been listening to his instructions.
Before his arrest, Barnes posted regular videos on social media and referred to himself as a “skateboarder, snake catcher and hack gardener”.
Kelly saved the local swimming pool in Quambatook from closing down – the only local facility where young children can safely learn to swim – before she was killed.
She was also at the helm of the town’s community development association, Amity Club and memorial swimming pool.
Her alleged murder left the tiny farming town on the banks of the drought-ravaged Avoca River reeling.
