Warrnambool man admits to partner's manslaughter in Ocean Grove

He had beaten the 28-year-old mother over a protracted period before leaving her unconscious and with severe trauma to her face and head.

The man did not disclose that information to the triple-zero operator, instead stating a woman at a unit in Warrnambool's Ocean Grove, about 500 metres away, needed help and then hung up.

The man, Paul Philip McDonough, 41, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Wednesday, more than three years after Bekkie-Rae Curren-Trinca was found with head injuries at the unit on November 27, 2019.

Ms Curren-Trinca was flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, where she died of blunt force head trauma on December 4.

The victim had a family violence safety plan in place and had voiced fears she would be murdered in the weeks before her death.

McDonough was originally charged with intentionally causing serious injury and then murder, before that charge was ultimately replaced with manslaughter.

Crown prosecutor Angela Moran said the pair was in a relationship for five months and McDonough was angry and sometimes violent.

She said the victim spoke to or attended Warrnambool's domestic violence service provider Emma House five times between November 4 and 20, and that she was in fear of being killed or seriously harmed.

The prosecutor said Ms Curren-Trinca received two nights' accommodation in a safe location but later admitted to returning to McDonough's home because she had nowhere else to go.

She said on November 15 Ms Curren-Trinca told McDonough in a texting exchange that he could easily kill her, and that made her angry because her daughter needed her.

"You could easily take that away from her," she told him.

Then on November 26, 2019, McDonough returned home to find Ms Curren-Trinca preparing to leave him, the prosecutor said.

She said the woman tried to escape and ran up the street but her partner had chased her down and forced her to return home.

She said nearby residents observed that chase, with others overhearing yelling and "thuds" from the unit throughout the evening.

One resident knocked on their door but McDonough told him to keep out of their business.

Ms Moran said the assault started sometime after 5.30pm and continued for an unknown number of hours until the triple-zero call was made from the phone box at 9.59am the following day - nearly 17 hours later.

She said it was the prosecution's case that McDonough inflicted non-life threatening injuries all over Ms Curren-Trinca's body.

She said a metal bar wrapped with pink tape was later located at the unit but it did not cause the injuries resulting in Ms Curren-Trinca's death.

Ms Moran said a punch to the victim's face caused her to fall over and hit her head, resulting in bleeding on the brain which led to her eventual death.

The court heard it was impossible to know the exact duration of the assault or how long the delay was between the serious injury being sustained and McDonough calling for help.

In the hours after the triple-zero call, McDonough attended the home of a childhood friend and said he had a "bad feeling" and "I think I might have f****** up".

He asked for a lift to his parents' business in the city's industrial estate so that he could say goodbye.

McDonough then handed himself into police.

Ms Moran said the offending was a serious example of domestic violence with the assault resulting in significant soft tissue injuries which, according to a medical witness, were consistent with a car crash.

Ms Curren-Trinca's sister Demi told the court her best friend and confidant was the victim of a "vicious domestic violence act that resulted in her excruciating death" and left her young daughter to grow up without a mother.

She said her sister's life had so much promise before it was cut short by an act of senseless, brutal violence that should never have happened.

The court heard McDonough had a lengthy criminal history involving violence against women.

His barrister Ashley Halphen said the man had spent just one year and 10 months outside the prison system and without supervision in the past 12 years.

Mr Halphen said an accident when McDonough was 17 was the launching pad for regular drug use which developed into an ongoing lifestyle choice that left him with chronic auditory hallucinations.

He said McDonough went to the police station without hesitation, had demonstrated a high level of remorse for the offending and recognised nothing could diminish his personal criminal responsibility.

Mr Halphen said McDonough had spent three-and-a-half years in custody on remand and his abstinence from drug use would allow him to be released into the community with stronger foundations than when he left it.

Mr McDonough will be sentenced at a later date.

Demi Trinca said she hoped her family's tragedy would lead to "greater awareness and action to prevent domestic violence from claiming the lives of other innocent victims".

Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; MensLine 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732.

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