Victorian woman who encouraged father bashing could be free in a month

A woman who encouraged two men to inflict a "flogging" on a Victorian father later found in a shallow grave, may walk free from jail in a month.

Natalie Dalton, 38, believed 39-year-old Jade Goodwin should "cop a beating and a fair one" as payback for an unproven claim he raped a woman.

But the Hastings father of two died after he was strangled with a dog lead while being attacked in his own bed. His body was found in "a suspicious hole" at Tyabb a week later, in October 2017.

Dalton was initially charged with murder but later pleaded guilty intentionally causing serious injury, with prosecutors conceding she was not responsible for the injuries causing Mr Goodwin's death.

Dalton was jailed today for two-and-a-half years with a minimum one year and eight months.

Having already served 570 days in pre-sentence custody, she will be eligible for parole in a month.

Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale said he was not satisfied a rape occurred and made no finding on that matter either way.

However he said there had been some kind of "incident" that led to Dalton setting a chain of events in motion, telling her friends Mr Goodwin had committed a sexual assault and that his flatmate wanted to evict him.

Dalton's ex-partner Brendan McDowall and another man, Shane Heiberg, then entered Mr Goodwin's unit and attacked him in bed during a "protracted struggle".

During the assault, McDowall hit Mr Goodwin with bolt cutters he found on the ground before putting a dog lead around his neck, strangling him.

Dalton, a mother with a history of drug and alcohol problems, later accompanied McDowall to dispose of Mr Goodwin's body.

Heiberg pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this year and McDowall was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter by a jury in May.

Outside court, one of Mr Goodwin's loved ones told reporters Dalton "got away with murder".

Another said: "His name's cleared but there's no justice."