Abuse claims against dead Vic couple

Family of a dead Victorian couple say they didn't know two of the couple's children had alleged their father used to beat and abuse them.

Ian Thomas, 38, is accused of strangling his mother Pauline Thomas and then shooting his father William Thomas in Wangaratta on April 21, 2013.

The West Australian man has pleaded not guilty in the Victorian Supreme Court and says he killed his father in self defence after arriving home to find his mother dead at his father's hand.

On Tuesday the court heard from William and Pauline's relatives, who said the couple were fairly reserved, although William didn't mind a chat when he was having a smoke.

Ian's defence lawyer Theo Kassimatis asked John Coonan, Pauline's brother, if he knew about abuse allegations from two of the five children.

"Were you aware that at least two siblings have alleged their childhood was marked by frequent beatings and abuse by Bill Thomas?" Mr Kassimatis said on Tuesday.

"No," Mr Jones replied.

Lindy Jones, William's niece and Ian's cousin, said she had seen William yell at his children, but not hit them.

She said she only heard about the abuse allegations after her aunt and uncle died.

William's sister Yvonne Jones also said she was not aware of the abuse allegations.

She denied there was any bad blood between the nine siblings in her family after her mother's will left half of the family farm to William.

The rest of the farm was split between William's eight siblings.

The Crown says Ian Thomas strangled his mother in a shed behind the house, then lay in wait for his father, who he also murdered.

But his lawyer Mr Kassimatis last week told the court Ian Thomas shot his father in self-defence, then, reeling from the shock of seeing his mother's dead body, he used the wooden handle of a pick axe to bludgeon his father's skull.

The trial continues before Justice Lex Lasry on Wednesday.