Weeks later she was found dead in her partly burnt Mount Pleasant home with more than 50 wounds to her body, a court has heard.

Mount Pleasant man Scott Cameron, in his mid-30s, appeared in Ballarat Magistrates Court for a three-day committal hearing on Tuesday. He is charged with the murder of Ms Goodsell, whose body was found in a house on Kenworthy Place by emergency services after a house fire on October 5 last year.

The court heard Ms Goodsell had more than 50 incisions on her body, with a wound to the left side of her neck the likely major contributing factor to her death, with another significant wound on her pharynx.

Mitchell Clark, a friend and former housemate of Ms Goodsell, tried to get into the burning house on the day her body was discovered.

He said when he saw the woman on around September 29, Ms Goodsell said "she was scared" and Cameron was "aggressive", having made threats in text messages to her that he would "drive a knife into his throat if she left him".

"She kept on telling me about their arguments," Mr Clark said. "Saying if she left (the relationship), it wouldn't be good for her ... because apparently he was clingy."

He told the court he knew the woman had been "injured and hurt badly" by the time he gave a statement to police on October 5, because when he tried to access the house which was filled with smoke, he "could see blood over the bed".

Mr Clark said he moved out of the home because he wanted to get away from the "drug scene" at the Kenworthy Place residence.

Another friend, Christopher Kinna, gave evidence that in text messages the day before her death, Ms Goodsell stated she was "not allowed to go anywhere without him (Cameron) or being checked on". But he noted he had never seen a physical or verbal altercation between the pair.

When a CCTV video of Ms Goodsell from a public bus was shown to a witness, members of the deceased woman's family cried and left the court.

Dr Mariya Goray, from the Victoria Forensic Science Centre, said she examined a knife, a hatchet, scrapings from under Ms Goodsell's fingernails for DNA, as well as a DNA sample from Cameron.

When the blood on the blade of the knife was analysed, Ms Goodsell was considered the most likely main contributor, with a likelihood of 100 billion to one.

On the handle of the knife, there was 'strong' forensic support for both Ms Goodsell's and Cameron's DNA being present, according to Dr Goray.

Blood was found on the right side of the head of the hatchet. There was 'strong' forensic support that both Ms Goodsell and Cameron's DNA were on the hatchet.

Another witness, Sara Smithers, told the court in her evidence that Ms Goodsell appeared at her home unannounced on the day before her death for a cuppa, stating Ms Goodsell said she needed some peace and quiet away from the Kenworthy Place address.

She said after the woman had been there for around one hour before Cameron arrived and the couple had a conversation.

Ms Smithers said the woman said Cameron "had cracked it and left", and Ms Goodsell was "hoping (Cameron) was going to leave and not be there when she got home". The witness said Ms Goodsell "seemed scared" to go home.

The hearing will continue in front of Magistrate Ron Saines on Wednesday.

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