An alleged Canberra killer will stand trial later this year after allegedly inflicting fatal head injuries on a fellow Kambah man, who died after checking himself out of hospital.
Grant Allen Q Oldfield, 50, has been behind bars on remand since January, when he was arrested over the death of Douglas Arthur Creek, 68.
He was committed to the ACT Supreme Court in May after pleading not guilty to a murder charge.
During a criminal callover on Monday morning, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum set Oldfield's trial down to begin on December 5.
Defence barrister James Sabharwal told the court the trial was likely to take between five and seven days.
Oldfield, who has never applied for bail, has previously complained about his case "dragging on".
Few details of the murder allegation have been aired in court, but police said at the time of Oldfield's arrest that officers had been called to a "disturbance" at a Kambah home about 1.30am on January 22.
"Police located a man there with head injuries," Detective Acting Superintendent Callum Hughes told reporters in January.
"The man gave an explanation of the cause of his injuries, which did not disclose an offence."
Paramedics took this man, Mr Creek, to hospital for treatment, but he checked himself out about 12.25pm on the day in question.
"[He] returned to his home and was seen alive by neighbours later that afternoon," Detective Acting Superintendent Hughes said.
However, late the following morning, police received a report that Mr Creek could not be contacted.
Officers went to his Kambah home for a welfare check and found him dead inside.
Detectives investigating the death arrested Oldfield that night.
