Former chef pleads guilty over death of an Airbnb guest who was found face down

A former chef has admitted to the manslaughter of a Melbourne Airbnb guest, who was found face down in chocolate cake.

Craig Levy, 37,appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria, where he admitted to the killing Ramis Jonuzi, 36, at a house in Brighton, in Melbourne's south-east.

His plea of guilty to manslaughter on Monday came after the charge was downgraded from murder.

Mr Jonuzi suffered a broken nose, bruises and abrasions to his face, and injuries indicating sustained pressure to his neck, a committal hearing previously heard.

The cause of death was deemed to be compression of the neck, aggravated by blood in the lungs.

He agreed Mr Jonuzi may have died from a 'choke hold', where pressure is applied with an arm around a person's throat.

The court was also told Levy called police seeking Mr Jonuzi be removed from his home after a dispute over rent at the Airbnb house turned violent.

The victim had a 'modest' amount of the drug ice in his system, the pathologist added.

When police arrived, they found Mr Jonuzi lifeless and face down in chocolate cake in the front yard.

The trio at the scene - Levy, along with co-accused Ryan Smart and Jason Colton - were arrested and initially charged with murder.

Smart pleaded guilty to manslaughter in May while Colton is yet to plead.

Levy, a former Brighton East resident, is due to return to court on September 17 for a pre-sentence hearing.