Wangoom man Steven Johnson applying for bail in Supreme Court

Police fear a Wangoom man charged with murder may interfere with a body claimed to be buried in the Framlingham forest, the Supreme Court has heard during a bail application.

Steven Johnson, 70, applied for bail in the Supreme Court on Monday morning.

Justice John Champion reserved his decision until a date to be fixed.

He said it was the most serious charge, he needed time to consider a decision and that would not happen on Monday.

Mr Johnson's lawyers said their client was willing to comply with a bail condition to not go within two kilometres of the Framlingham forest.

The lawyer said his client would also be willing to wear an electronic monitoring device, at a cost of about $25,000 a year, if that was going to allow the bail application to be successful.

The court heard that a trial on the charges was not likely to be heard until towards the end of next year, so the upfront cost of an ankle bracelet would be $50,000.

Mr Johnson's lawyers submitted that his time in custody had been more onerous due to him contracting COVID.

They submitted he was no risk of further offending and the only point of contention with the prosecution was a risk of interfering with witnesses.

It was suggested that bail conditions could include Mr Johnson not contact his co-accused or any prosecution witness, except his wife.

Lawyers for Mr Johnson submitted that going to the Framlingham forest would not be an intelligent thing for their client to do, potentially supplying the prosecution with the best evidence they had managed to come up with so far.

They also raised the possibility of Mr Johnson putting up a significant surety, in the form of the property jointly owned by him and his wife.

The lawyers said that Mr Johnson going to see his co-accused immediately after being interviewed by police and reportedly saying he was worried was a natural reaction for someone who was innocent.

The prosecution submitted it was a serious alleged offence, but acknowledged it was not a strong case, but built on circumstantial evidence.

In April: Transcripts of conversations between covert operatives and an accused murderer will be crucial evidence in the case involving missing Wangoom father Christopher Jarvis.

The 38-year-old man was last seen when he left his family home in Warrne Road on June 13, 2006, about 6am.

He never arrived at work and his car - a silver 1991 Ford station wagon - was found two hours later on fire at Warrnambool's Thunder Point.

Steven Johnson, 70, of Wangoom, and Glenn Fenwick, 59, of Warrnambool, were last year charged with Mr Jarvis' murder.

They appeared via video link in Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Friday for a committal mention hearing.

Office of Public Prosecutions senior solicitor Tim White told the court transcripts of conversations between Mr Fenwick and covert police operatives had been provided to his office and would soon be passed on to the defence.

He asked the court for more time for both parties to view the transcripts.

Mr White also told the court a DNA analysis had been conducted but was yet to undergo a review process.

He said the prosecution was expecting an update early next week.

Magistrate Franz Holzer adjourned the hearing until June 16.

He expressed sympathy to Mr Jarvis' family members, who were in court.

Mr Johnson and Mr Fenwick remain in custody.

A lawyer for Mr Johnson said his client had identified a number of physical and mental health issues which were being "poorly managed" in custody.

He successfully applied for his client's justice health records to be released.

Last year Mr Jarvis' daughter pleaded with Mr Fenwick to tell her where her father's body was.

"Please tell us where he is, please, please," she yelled during a filing hearing.

Victoria Police missing persons unit officers have searched the Framlingham forest for Mr Jarvis' body extensively.

A police spokeswoman last year said the matter was initially investigated by the local police as a missing persons case and inquiries made at the time suggested Mr Jarvis' disappearance was not suspicious.

"However in 2018 new information was received by the missing persons squad which led police to believe there had been other people involved in Christopher's disappearance, and he had likely met with foul play," she told The Standard.

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