A State Coroner has referred the 2016 death of a Warrnambool man to the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider whether criminal charges should be laid against Kirkstall's Kevin Knowles.
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Coroner Simon McGregor found that Stephen Johnston, then 57, died on December 8, 2016, after suffering multiple blunt force injuries, including a fractured skull.
He also had heart and liver conditions and hypothermia was a contributing factor which led to his body shutting down.
Mr McGregor in his report said that Mr Johnston's death was the result of homicide despite there being no evidence about the exact circumstances of his death.
He found that Mr Knowles was responsible for the injuries and subsequent neglect that caused Mr Johnston's death.
"The evidence demonstrates that Kevin Knowles and (his girlfriend) Amanda Bourke were both involved in the assault and subsequent neglect of Mr Johnston that ultimately led to his death," he decided.
"Having reached this conclusion, I will refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions to consider whether criminal charges ought to be laid against Mr Knowles only, as Ms Bourke is now deceased."
On January 18, 2018, Ms Bourke drowned at Killarney while swimming with Mr Knowles.
An inquest into her death is ongoing.
Both Mr Knowles and Ms Bourke were questioned by Victoria Police homicide squad detectives in the days after Mr Johnston's death, but were released without being charged.
The coroner said about 5pm on December 7, 2016, Mr Knowles and Ms Bourke went to Warrnambool's Suzanne Crescent to see friend Dwayne Clarke, who lived near Mr Johnston.
He said in his findings that Mr Clarke was not home, but Mr Johnston invited the couple to his house for a drink.
At 7pm Denis Gleeson was walking past with his dog when he saw an upset Ms Bourke in the front yard.
He joined the others for a drink, staying for about half an hour, before leaving and he reported that Mr Johnston, Mr Knowles and Ms Bourke were all intoxicated.
The coroner said that Mr Knowles and Ms Bourke claimed to leave Mr Johnston's house about 7.50pm and that Mr Johnson was drunk but unharmed.
Mr McGregor found the pair said they returned at 11pm and saw a naked Mr Johnston on his front lawn covered in bruises and blood.
The couple helped him inside but said he fell over multiple times but did not want them to call an ambulance.
Ms Bourke asked if she could take Mr Johnston's car to get cigarettes and he agreed.
She and Mr Knowles took his car and wallet, leaving about 3am to get McDonalds and go to a service station.
They returned at 1.30pm the following day and noticed Mr Johnston had not moved from the floor of the lounge room.
Emergency services were contacted, Mr Johnston was taken to Warrnambool Base Hospital but he died at 9pm that night.
At hospital Mr Johnston was unable to say what had happened.
The coroner said a post mortem was conducted and noted Mr Johnston had suffered 101 individual injuries, including lacerations, a skull fracture, bruising to the back of his legs, his back and genitals, and those injuries were not consistent with falls.
His blood alcohol reading was .07 and he had three different sorts of drugs in his system, including Oxycodone.
The coroner found the injuries were caused by a third party, that the balance of the evidence satisfied him that party was Mr Knowles, with Ms Bourke being present and potentially involved.
Another witness, Theresa Bouchier said that between 7pm and 7.30pm that night she heard yelling and saw Mr Johnston with a hammer in his hand and a man and woman walking off, believed to be Mr Knowles and Ms Bourke.
The coroner said there was no evidence from neighbours about what happened to Mr Johnston between 7.50pm and 11pm when Mr Knowles and Ms Bourke returned.
He said Mr Knowles and Ms Bourke's "accounts were littered with inconsistency and ultimately, not to be truthful".
The coroner said the major inconsistency was that Mr Knowles denied he assaulted Mr Johnston at all.
"This is completely contrary to the stance taken by Ms Bourke, who at various times says Mr Knowles pushed, slapped and/or punched Mr Johnston, so much so she felt it necessary to remove the CCTV from Mr Johnston's home," the coroner said.
Mr McGregor said the removal of the CCTV satisfied him a serious assault happened, so much so that Mr Knowles and Ms Bourke believed it was necessary to remove any evidence
The coroner said Mr Knowles police record runs for about 50 pages, including hundreds of prior convictions, many for dishonesty and violence.
The coroner said he did not accept Mr Knowles' evidence and he probably committed perjury in signing his statement to police.
"Mr Knowles is a most unreliable witness," Mr McGregor said.
The coroner said Mr Knowles, in letters written from prison to Ms Bourke, led to an inference they were both aware of what happened to Mr Johnston.
Mr Knowles wrote: "I have never put anyone on the Jacks (police) in my life and would never ever put you in when I say that I am talking about the shit at Steve's I done wrong. I am sorry but don't put me out to dry I know you don't mean what happened but don't trust the Jacks".
Mr McGregor said in his report that six weeks after the death of Mr Johnson, Ms Bourke was seen with a black eye and reported to police that Mr Knowles grabbed her around the throat, covered her mouth, tried to stop her breathing and threatened to kill her with a knife and bury her.
The coroner said that in a letter to her mother, Ms Bourke revealed police feared Mr Knowles would kill her and encouraged her to go into witness protection but she wouldn't do it and be separated from her child.
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