The parents of a young child have appeared in court bruised, sobbing and charged with the murder of respected pediatrician Michael Yung.
Kerem Aydin, 22, and Jacinta Davila, 27, were arrested outside an Adelaide shopping centre after the 61-year-old father's death in an apparent home invasion triggered a high-level investigation by Major Crime detectives.
The pair faced Adelaide Magistrates Court via video link on Wednesday charged with murder, aggravated serious criminal trespass and committing theft using force.
Magistrate Michael Jandy heard the couple were linked to the crime scene by DNA evidence found at Dr Yung's Gilberton home.
Davila's DNA was found on a headtorch at the suspected entry point, adjacent to a fly screen that had been sliced open, while Aydin was linked to blood stains at the scene.
CCTV footage showed two people outside the house at the time of the attack, but the quality of the footage was not strong enough to positively identify them on its own, Mr Jandy heard.
Dr Yung was heard asking the defendants how they got into the house before loud noises and a scream, the court was told.
The rear door was smashed and the victim was found nearby suffering head and spinal injuries.
The court heard the pair was arrested outside a shopping centre after they had attempted to shoplift a first aid kit from a Chemist Warehouse to patch up Aydin's injuries, allegedly sustained during the break-in.
Glass fragments were found on shoes at the defendants' home, while blood-stained clothing was recovered from a washing machine, the prosecutor said.
Aydin, sporting a bandage over a bruised and swollen left eye, did not apply for bail.
Davila, who sobbed throughout her appearance, will return to court next week when Mr Jandy will consider releasing her on home detention bail.
Her lawyer said she was effectively the single parent of the pair's eight-month-old son and remaining in custody throughout a lengthy trial would bring undue hardship on the child.
The Thebarton couple had unsuccessfully attempted co-parenting after the child was conceived during a one-night stand, he said.
Mr Jandy said he was inclined to accept the defence case that special circumstances should be afforded to Davila because of her parental obligations but he was yet to make his mind up about releasing her on bail.
The prosecution opposed her bail, arguing the alleged offending was serious in nature, the case against her was a strong one and she was a risk of tampering with evidence.
Whilst there was a relatively strong case that Davila had tampered with evidence by attempting to wash blood from their clothing, there was an obvious question mark surrounding the strength of evidence attaching her to the crime scene at the time, Mr Jandy said.
While he acknowledged her DNA was found at the crime scene, he said there was the potential for secondary transfer from her to the crime scene via Aydin.
"Absent of any other evidence putting this defendant at the scene of the crime at the time, the case will remain possibly equivocal in relation to her," Mr Jandy said.
The pair are due back in court for a charge determination hearing in March.
