WARNING: The content of this story may be distressing
The end of Karen Chetcuti Verbunt’s life came at the hands of a man who allegedly drugged, bound and assaulted her before setting her alight.
The 49-year-old Whorouly woman’s neighbour, Michael Cardamone, faced Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, accused of her violent murder.
In the first time details of the death have been made public, crown prosecutor Gavin Silbert said Ms Chetcuti Verbunt's cause of death was a combination of blunt force trauma and being burned alive.
He said Cardamone, 49, allegedly went to the woman’s home at 9.30pm on January 12, 2016.
During the next number of hours, he allegedly forced her to ingest a small amount of animal tranquilizers and methamphetamine, bound and gagged her before causing fractures to her skull.
Ms Chetcuti Verbunt's body was found down a track off Croppers Creek Road on January 17 with duct tape wrapped five times around her neck, plus two cable ties.
Mr Silbert said the body was also tortured and injected with battery acid after death, and had spinal injuries allegedly caused by being run over by Cardamone’s car.
“He then set about an elaborate charade, making it look like an innocent disappearance,” he said.
“He fabricated a story that he had been kidnapped.”
The prosecution alleged Cardamone washed his car three times in Myrtleford to cover up the evidence and told police a series of false stories.
FORENSIC EVIDENCE REVEALS CAUSE OF DEATH
Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine head of forensic science Dimitri Gerostamoulos said 0.03mg/L of xylazine was found in Ms Chetcuti Verbunt's stomach.
He said the drug was normally an animal tranquilliser, but even in small doses could also affect humans.
“This drug is likely to cause drowsiness, could have caused unconsciousness and in some cases can cause death,” Dr Gerostamoulos said.
He said a low concentration in the woman's blood could have been altered because her body was so decomposed.
There was also evidence of petrol fumes ingested while Ms Chetcuti Verbunt was burned.
“It's quite a volatile substance,” Dr Gerostamoulos said.
Forensic pathologist Malcolm Dodd said the time of death could have been any point over the few days before the body was discovered.
He had not been expecting the results of the CAT scan in the case of a burned body found in the bush.
“I immediately saw a variety of fractures,” Mr Dodd said.
“The fractures looks very much like a motor vehicle accident.”
He said fractures to the pelvis and ribs were consistent with the body being run over after death.
But the skull fracture was inflicted while Ms Chetcuti Verbunt was alive and could have been life-threatening itself.
Mr Dodd said there was no evidence of sexual assault.
PIECING TOGETHER WHAT HAPPENED ON THE NIGHT
Kayla Hawkins was driving home to Wangaratta from work in Mytleford about 10pm on January 12 last year when she saw a red Citroen she would later read in the newspaper belonged to Ms Chetcuti Verbunt.
She called Crime Stoppers to report seeing the car about 15 kilometres out of Myrtleford when it took the corner too fast from Whorouly Road onto Great Alpine Road, veering onto the wrong side.
“It was night time so I didn’t see anyone,” she said.
Early the next morning at about 3am taxi driver Mick Ralston received a call to pick up a man from Buffalo River Road, he later identified as Cardamone.
The passenger accepted the quoted rate of $120 for the trip back to his Whorouly home.
“He said his car broke down and he didn’t want to disturb his friends in Whorouly, that’s why he got a taxi,” Mr Ralston said.
“He wasn’t overly talkative.”
