Wangoom man Steven Johnson will be released on bail

A Wangoom man charged with murder will be released on bail.

Justice John Champion in the Supreme Court on Friday found that exceptional circumstances did exist which allowed Steve Johnson, 71, to be released from custody.

Mr Johnson and co-accused Glenn Fenwick were last year charged with the alleged murder of Wangoom man Chris Jarvis, who went missing in 2006.

Justice Champion told Friday's hearing the strength of the case against Mr Johnson would be more difficult to make if statements of Mr Fenwick were excluded.

He said what would remain was circumstantial evidence, but it was not the role of the court at this stage to evaluate that evidence.

The justice said the case would rely on a series of inferences but was not doomed to fail even though the prosecution admitted it was not a strong case.

He said it was appropriate in the case, especially considering the co-accused's criminal prior convictions, to treat his evidence with caution.

The justice found Mr Johnson had a special vulnerability and exceptional circumstances existed.

But, he said a comment to Mr Fenwick and him contacting another witness indicated there was a risk he would obstruct justice and tamper with witnesses.

He found those risks could be moderated to an acceptable level with the fitting of an electronic device and other bail conditions, including he not go within five kilometres of the boundaries of the Framlingham forest and provide a $500,000 surety.

The Supreme Court heard evidence from an expert how an electronic monitoring device would work.

Such devices are licensed to be used in Victoria, NSW and Western Australia.

The expert said it was typically worn on an ankle and was fitted upon release from a custodial institution.

The expert said the device was worn 24 hours per day and it was cordlessly charged.

The device weighs about 180 grams, is worth about $2700 and was electronically checked every 13 minutes.

He said breaches could be related to tampering, entering an excluded location and low battery.

Any breaches are immediately communicated to the monitoring centre and to a police officer in charge of the case.

He said he would need to be provided with location boundaries to set up an excluded area around Framlingham Forest.

The expert said the monitoring device would report if an exclusion zone was breached.

He said he had checked and there was good telecommunications service in the Wangoom area.

The court heard the up-front charge was $25,000 to fit and provide technical support for 12 months, which could be extended by three or six months if required.

The court was told the boundaries around the forest were to the south - Framlingham Forest Road and Kirrae Avenue, Framlingham Forest Road in the north, Hopkins Highway to the west and Hopkins River to the east.

A barrister for Mr Johnson submitted there was no evidence her client knew if there was a body in the forest or where that body was buried.

"Police have searched and found nothing. He would be mad if he did know and went there," she said.

Mr Johnson's barrister claimed it was a "very weak" prosecution case.

The prosecution claims police were told by co-accused Mr Fenwick that the body of Chris Jarvis was buried in the Framlingham Forest, the court heard.

The court heard Mr Fenwick took police to the forest in an effort to locate the body in the 1100 hectare forest, but it has not been located.

Justice Champion said the case revolved around evidence that Mr Jarvis owed Mr Johnson money for rent, which was listed for hearing in a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal which was to be held on June 14, 2006.

Mr Jarvis went missing the day before that hearing.

Mr Johnson was arrested on November 22 last year and he has spent 190 days in custody.

The justice said police claimed there had been a dispute over rent for four months leading up to Mr Jarvis' disappearance.

According to Mr Fenwick he and Mr Johnson confronted Mr Jarvis on the morning of June 13, 2006, at the end of a driveway and Mr Jarvis was hit to the back of the head with an imitation firearm before he was hit to the head with a baseball bat.

It's alleged by police that Mr Fenwick's vehicle was then used to transport Mr Jarvis' body to the Framlingham Forest where it was buried.

Police allege that about 9am Mr Johnson graded his driveway in an effort to remove any evidence.

The court heard a baseball bat was found in Mr Jarvis' vehicle but DNA tests had not linked the bat to either Mr Fenwick or Mr Johnson.

The justice said the prosecution case relied on statements of Mr Fenwick as well as admission to covert operatives and fellow prisoners.

Police claim there was evidence of a financial motive and Mr Johnson used a tractor to cover up evidence, the court heard.

Mr Johnson claimed that the imitation firearm was placed inside his front gate in an effort to set him up.

Justice Champion said Mr Johnson had denied any involvement and was willing to put up a surety of his property, valued at $1.8 million.

He also noted comments from Mr Johnson that "the shit's hit the fan" and he was "worried".

The justice said the family of Mr Jarvis was strongly opposed to Mr Johnson being released on bail, their suffering had been exacerbated because the body of Mr Jarvis had not been found and they feared encountering Mr Johnson in the community.

He also noted that during a Webex court hearing it was alleged Mr Johnson commented to Mr Fenwick: "You have got to tell them you're dreaming".

There was no recording of that comment.

Earlier:

Justice John Champion will this morning announce in the Supreme Court whether a Wangoom man charged with murder will be released on bail.

On May 18 Justice John Champion said it was the most serious charge and he needed time to consider a decision.

Legal experts say Mr Johnson has a good chance of being granted bail.

Police fear Mr Johnson may interfere with a body claimed to be buried in the Framlingham forest

While 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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