"My memory is not that great, so I don't recall much," Van Thanh Vu, 71, said on Tuesday through a Vietnamese interpreter.

Vu previously pleaded not guilty to murder, relating to the death of 65-year-old Thi Thuy Huong Nguyen on Kinloch Circuit last October.

The alleged killer interrupted the court multiple times from a remote room, telling special magistrate Sean Richter he did not understand why his case was being adjourned.

It had been listed for committal on Tuesday, presumably on its way to a Supreme Court trial.

Instead, Legal Aid lawyer Nathan Deakes said the Vietnamese forensic psychiatrist who had been engaged realised they were conflicted out of the matter after receiving relevant material.

"I still don't understand the reason why there's a conflict," Vu asked.

Mr Deakes asked for a four-week adjournment so another psychiatrist could be engaged.

"A mental impairment defence is being sought," the defence lawyer said.

Authorities were called to the Bruce home on October 23 of last year, when they found the 65-year-old woman with stab wounds.

She could not be revived and died at the scene.

Police have previously said the couple lived together in the house for a long time but have yet to divulge the exact nature of the relationship.

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The couple's daughter was first on the scene and called police, who found the woman's body in the home's kitchen.

Vu was admitted to hospital with knife wounds to his wrists.

The case is set to return to court next month, when Mr Deakes said he was hopeful for a committal.