Kobie Parfitt death: Brendon Prestage released following Shannon Jeffrey guilty plea

Brendon James Prestage, 33, who spent 924 days in prison since being charged with murder, was sentenced after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of assisting an offender in relation to manslaughter.

The court heard while Prestage was not present for the death of Ms Parfitt, he was instrumental in helping hide her body down a Snake Valley mineshaft, which ensured the destruction of evidence and provided untold additional grief to the family of Ms Parfitt.

Co-accused Shannon Jeffrey pleaded guilty to manslaughter on July 5.

According to a summary read by Justice Michael Croucher in the Victorian Supreme Court, in early 2020 Jeffrey moved her possessions to Ms Parfitt's home in Ballarat Central shortly before being arrested and sent to prison.

While in prison, Jeffrey believed Ms Parfitt was selling her possessions, and had contributed to her arrest by divulging information to police.

After Jeffrey's release, Ms Parfitt feared for her wellbeing and prepared to leave her home as she was scared of what might happen to her if she stayed.

On April 27, 2020, Jeffrey visited Ms Parfitt's home, where she loaded up a car with several bags of the victim's possessions, before hitting Ms Parfitt in the face and causing her nose to bleed.

According to a witness, Ms Parfitt was petrified during the encounter, and said she knew "this day was coming".

The following day, April 28, 2020, Ms Parfitt was observed by a witness in the car of one of the accused, where she was described as "shaking" and "terrified."

She was then approached by the witness who asked if she was okay, to which Ms Parfitt said "really bad people" were taking her possessions and asked them to call the police.

After sheltering in a nearby home for a short period, a witness watched Ms Parfitt return to the car where she was driven back to her house - this would be the last time Ms Parfitt was seen alive by a member of the public.

Prestage was not seen on the street during this encounter, but his blue Ford was parked in Parfitt's driveway.

Two witnesses were later told by Prestage and Jeffrey Ms Parfitt was dead, while Jeffrey waved her hand near her throat in a slitting gesture.

The pair had then strung Ms Parfitt's corpse up to make it look like she had hanged herself in a suicide.

Later, Jeffrey would tell witnesses she had beaten Ms Parfitt, who had begged for her life while on her knees, before Jeffrey choked her to death with a dog lead.

The court was told there was no evidence suggesting Prestage was aware of this information.

Concerned about fingerprints on Ms Parfitt's body, the decision was made to remove her corpse from the house.

Prestage and Jeffrey wrapped Ms Parfitt's body in sheets and plastic and loaded her remains into Prestage's Ford Territory.

Jeffrey had told Prestage she knew a location in Snake Valley where they could hide the body.

When the pair arrived in Snake Valley, they found an abandoned mine shaft where they tossed Ms Parfitt's remains, before covering her with blankets and shovelling soil down the shaft until her body was no longer visible.

Jeffrey then began living in Ms Parfitt's home, while she and several others spread rumours that Ms Parfitt had fled to Queensland.

Owing to this deception, it took police four months before they reported Ms Parfitt as a missing person.

In December 2020, police began investigations into Prestage.

Using his phone records, which showed he had been in Snake Valley around the disappearance, they managed to locate Ms Parfitt's body.

Her corpse was badly decomposed, but was matched to Ms Parfitt via a DNA comparison.

On December 23, 2020, police went to Prestage's home in Wendouree - he ran from officers and destroyed his phone which he then put in the bin.

Police tracked Prestage to an address in Kinglake, where he again attempted to flee, but was arrested and charged with murder.

When sentencing Prestage, Justice Croucher said there were several factors to take into account, including statements from Ms Parfitt's family, who had been delayed justice, and were tragically denied the chance to see their relative a final time, because of the accused.

Owing to his "highly immoral" actions, Justice Croucher said Prestage had left the family in complete suspense, while compromising the police's homicide investigation, as the evidence was hard or impossible to identify once the body was eventually found.

But, Justice Croucher said there was no evidence to suggest Prestage was aware of the circumstances in which Ms Parfitt had been killed, and that he hadn't added to the deception by helping to spread rumours that she had left for Queensland.

"It is still a serious thing to cover up someone's offence of manslaughter by disposing of a body unceremoniously down a mineshaft," he said.

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While determining the length of sentence, Justice Croucher said Prestage's guilty plea, prospects of rehabilitation, conditions of incarceration and family history were all important factors.

Defense counsel for Prestage had argued he had endured an arduous term of imprisonment, where for a long time he had believed he was facing decades in prison for murder, while also living under restrictive COVID-19 protocols.

The court also heard Prestage had suffered a harsh upbringing in a family subject to domestic violence from his father, and had become a drug addict later in life.

But, Justice Croucher said Prestage showed strong signs of rehabilitation, because of the support of his partner, and his willingness to attend drug counselling sessions while in prison.

Eventually, he sentenced Prestage to two years and three months in prison, but having already served longer than the term, he was released from custody.

Had Prestage not pleaded guilty, Justice Croucher said he would have been sentenced to three years and three months in prison.

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