Document tendered to court claimed to be from murder victim leaving woman possessions

The partner of a Kirkstall murder victim has to provide a new residential address to police or risk breaching her current bail conditions.

Tracey Leske, 53, appeared in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court on Thursday for a part-heard bail variation application.

Ms Leske was previously charged by Koroit police with a number of offences, including aggravated burglary, and was released on bail to live at a Macarthur address.

But, she is now banned from being at that address.

Her application has been to live at an address she previously occupied with murder victim Kevin Knowles.

Mr Knowles, a well known criminal identity in the Warrnambool district, was shot and killed, along with sidekick Benny Ray, on the morning of July 22 this year.

The shooter, Travis Cashmore, then returned to his Kirkstall home and took his own life with the same shotgun.

A Moyne Shire Council spokesman previously said that the council had no documentation in relation to Mr Knowles' Kirkstall property and it's understood there is no certificate of occupancy.

Ms Leske applied to the Warrnambool court on November 30 to vary her bail and return to the Kirkstall address.

That hearing was told that 14 Kirkstall resident signed documents opposing Ms Leske returning to live in the town.

On Thursday Ms Leske produced a document to the court, which she claims is a letter from Mr Knowles leaving her his possessions.

Magistrate Nunzio La Rosa said the document tendered to court was not a legal document and went nowhere near what was required.

He said Ms Leske was currently not allowed to go to the Kirkstall address or be permitted to stay there and her application was refused.

The magistrate said that Ms Leske was technically in breach of her current bail conditions and he requested that she provide a new proposed address to the police officer involved in the case.

The court previously heard Ms Leske was living at her parents' address in Warrnambool, but she claimed they did not want her in their house when they were home.

Ms Leske said outside court on Thursday she had no intentions of living at Kirkstall and planned to move to Tasmania as soon as possible due to the pressure she was under from Mr Knowles' family members.

November 30: More than a dozen Kirkstall residents have signed statements urging a court to keep the partner of murdered crime figure Kevin Knowles out of their tight-knit community.

Knowles and sidekick Benny Ray were shot dead in a double murder/suicide at Kirkstall on July 22 and his partner Tracey Leske, 53, has now applied to vary her bail conditions so she can return to Knowles' home.

She has been charged with aggravated burglary and related offences allegedly committed in September and was bailed with strict conditions, including that she reside in Macarthur and not enter or remain in the township of Kirkstall.

But an intervention order imposed about a month ago now excludes Ms Leske from the Macarthur address.

Ms Leske appeared in Hamilton Magistrates Court on Wednesday where she made an application to return to the demountable classroom Knowles lived in at Atkinson Street for more than a decade.

She told the court she was staying at her parents' house but claimed she wasn't allowed inside when they were home.

"When you go out with Kevin Knowles you get judged a lot," Ms Leske told the court.

But Koroit police Leading Senior Constable Ian McNiven said police strongly opposed Ms Leske's application to return to Kirkstall due to the level of disruption she had caused in the community.

He said she was resentful following the death of her partner and was verbally abusive to residents, who believed she'd continue her high-end harassment if allowed to return.

Leading Senior Constable McNiven said the alleged victim of the aggravated burglary suffered mental health issues which were exacerbated by Ms Leske's alleged offending, and that any further contact would "highly likely" cause fear and distress.

He said he had also received two statements from neighbours, including one signed by an additional 12 residents, detailing "their fears and issues they have had with Ms Leske both prior to and since the death of her partner".

"Kirkstall is living in fear and the majority of those spoken to have declined to make a statement for fear of retribution," Leading Senior Constable McNiven said.

He said some residents accused Ms Leske of attempting to enter their properties and minor property damage after her partner was killed, although no charges had been laid.

Leading Senior Constable McNiven said alcohol appeared to be a contributing factor to Ms Leske's behaviour and that police had found her intoxicated a number of times, including at the Atkinson Street house.

He said there were also concerns about the Atkinson Street property given Knowles died without a will and Ms Leske had no known claim to his estate.

"(Knowles' son) has started the process of having documents arranged to have her removed from the house should she move back there," Leading Senior Constable McNiven said.

He said Moyne Shire Council also had no building or planning permits or occupancy certificate for the property.

Ms Leske told the court she had seen paperwork regarding the portable being placed at Atkinson Street.

But she said she would have given Knowles "a piece of my mind" if he'd lived in the house without the right documents.

Magistrate Nunzio La Rosa said it was inappropriate for a bail application to rely on community values.

"Last time I checked, the bail act does not permit community standards to inform a police officer as to what conditions to impose," he said.

But he said the application had no merit "whatsoever" unless Ms Leske's lawyer Natasha Jayasuriya could show her client would not be evicted from the property.

He said there were two fundamental issues - whether Ms Leske could legally reside at the property and if it was fit for human habitation.

Ms Jayasuriya sought an adjournment, which was granted. Ms Leske will appear in court again on December 8. She remains banned from Kirkstall.

IN OTHER NEWS

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: