The man accused of brutally murdering his elderly neighbour in one of Canberra's most exclusive streets may suffer from alzheimers and has "no recollection" of alleged killing, a court has heard.
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Luigi Costa is fighting charges that he murdered Terrence Freebody at Costa's Mugga Way home in Red Hill on July 22.
His attempt to win bail was again delayed today, as the court granted yet more time for forensic examinations, including an MRI and a CT scan.
The decision means the alleged killer's single bail application has now dragged on into its fourth month.
And the court has heard that Costa would have a "very strong" chance of being released on bail if psychiatric assessments were not done by his next court appearance on October 29.
Costa is accused of calling triple-0 and telling them he had been attacked, and that his assailant was still in the house.
An emergency call taker reported hearing moaning in the background during the call, and when police arrived at the home, they found Mr Freebody dead in the dining room with apparent knife injuries.
Costa was found in the nearby bathroom and returned an alcohol reading of .157 - more than three times the legal driving limit.
The court heard today that Costa underwent a psychiatric review, which found he may suffer from Alzheimer's-type dementia.
The review stated it was possible his cognitive problems may have caused memory impairment of a "severe range".
The court heard the mental impairments may have contributed to the alleged killing by making Costa "prone to poor planning and judgement".
In Costa's last court appearance, lawyers sought extra time to better assess his mental state.
But the court today heard that neurological scans were still not completed.
Defence lawyer John Purnell, SC, argued Costa should be given bail to allow him to see specialists.
Varaporn Osborne, 57, offered to give Costa a room at her three-bedroom home in court today.
Ms Osborne, a public servant and owner of a local Thai restaurant, said she could take the accused to psychiatric appointments, make sure he didn't drink alcohol, and report any breaches of bail conditions.
The court heard Ms Osborne and her partner, whose name was not released, could keep an eye on Costa, despite admitting their work meant the accused would be left alone at times throughout the day.
Magistrate Peter Dingwall has adjourned the bail application for another three weeks to allow neurological scans to be booked through the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
If those scans cannot be conducted through the prison, Costa may be released on bail to seek specialist help.
Costa's lawyers told the court there was not likely to be any issues with his fitness to plead.
Mr Purnell told the court he was yet to receive the brief of evidence from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Senior Prosecutor John Lundy said his office was still waiting on forensic analysis of the "large amount of biological material" collected from the crime scene.
A committal hearing has been set down for November 30 this year.
Costa remains in remand at the AMC, and will next appear on October 29.
