The four people accused of murdering Ballarat mother Kobie Parfitt faced the Supreme Court on Friday morning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The court heard lawyers for Shannon Jeffrey, Renee Reynolds, Jacob Ford and Brendan Prestage had all lodged documents in respect of the matter, with the common theme being that all were calling for a permanent stay on the case.
It comes after a hearing several weeks ago, when all four lawyers argued the prosecution case was purely speculation and that there was no hard evidence to prove the charges.
Having reviewed the content of the documents, judicial registrar, Tim Freeman, proposed the next step would be to convene a case conference to faciliate a discussion between all of the parties, with the assistance of a judge, to attempt to make progress.
"The purpose of this is for a roundtable discussion about the issues in this case, including the issues raised by your lawyers in their defence responses.
"The purpose is to see if the issues in the case can be narrowed or resolved," he told the accused.
If it doesn't, then formal litigation in the form of an appropriate for a permanent stay may proceed.
Jeffrey, Reynolds, Ford and Prestage is each facing one count of murdering Ms Parfitt on April 28, 2020.
Each accused has entered a not guilty plea.
The prosecution has alleged the 43-year-old was killed at her Hickman Street home, before her body was dumped down a mine shaft in Snake Valley that night.
Her remains were found on December 22, 2020.
Following a four-day committal hearing, Magistrate Ron Saines found there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial in December 2021.
In December last year he said there was evidence Jeffrey had a "serious grievance" with Ms Parfitt, who "feared the gravest of danger" from her and others who "may be willing to assist".
He also said evidence showed all four accused were with Ms Parfitt at times on the day and prior to her death "in circumstances which demonstrate some level of control, if not intimidation".
During the committal hearing, Detective Senior Constable Jason Stewart said there was no DNA or eye witness accounts for the murder, but there was a "strong, clear inference that can be drawn".
The matter will return for the case conference in May.
Each accused was further remanded until this date.
The trial will likely be held in 2023.
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.