John Torney has been not guilty of murdering Mildura toddler Nikki Francis Coslovich.

He had been accused of bashing the two-year-old to death.

The 32-year-old has admitted to hiding the child’s body, but always maintained the toddler’s mother had killed her.

Torney was also cleared of manslaughter.

The toddler was found in the roof of her family home last year, sustaining injuries a pathologist likened to those seen in high-speed car crashes.