A man accused of fatally bashing a Canberra grandmother nearly 25 years ago is set to use an alleged human rights breach in a bid for conditional release from custody.
Steve Fabriczy, 69, has denied killing 72-year-old Irma Palasics in her McKellar home in 1999 during a violent home invasion.
The Melbourne man and co-accused Joseph Vekony, 68, have each been committed to the ACT Supreme Court to fight a string of charges relating to the alleged murder.
They have both been in custody since their respective arrests in Victoria last year.
But on Tuesday, the court heard Fabriczy, an accused person, was being held in custody with sentenced prisoners in Canberra's jail in breach of the ACT Human Rights Act.
Defence barrister Jack Pappas said this alleged breach would make up part of his argument for a forthcoming bail application.
Mr Pappas said he also expected to bid for his client's conditional release by arguing past and anticipated delay, and difficulties accessing Fabriczy for instructions due to his placing in the prison.
After calling relevant authorities, prosecutor Trent Hickey said "it does appear the accused is mixed in with sentenced prisoners".
Satisfied of the information, Chief Justice Lucy McCallum put the bail application over to next week and directed Mr Pappas to give the Attorney-General and Human Rights Commission notice of the alleged breach.
The judge noted she understood "the cottage", where Fabriczy was being held with sentenced prisoners, was in fact "the best part of the jail".
"He might end up somewhere worse rather than somewhere better," Chief Justice McCallum said.
The alleged murder case
The investigation into Mrs Palasics' murder and the bashing of husband Gregor Palasics had been mostly fruitless until Fabriczy's DNA, said to have been taken years earlier by Victorian police, was allegedly matched by the Australian Federal Police in mid-2020.
Fabriczy was arrested and extradited to the ACT in September last year. Vekony would join him in custody two months later.
Details of an undercover sting, including a fictitious crime syndicate and corrupt police officer, which lead to the arrests, was previously revealed through court documents.
It's alleged the elderly couple were bound with cable ties and viciously beaten as their home was ransacked. Mr Palasics survived but by the time his wife's bindings were removed, she had passed away.
Fabriczy and Vekony have each denied further charges relating to the alleged home invasion, said to have netted them $30,000 worth of jewellery and cash, including armed robbery, unlawfully confining a person, and assault.
According to court documents, police believe the home invasion was the third of "a deliberate and targeted" series of burglaries on the Palasicses' home dating back to 1997.
Fabriczy is set to face court again next week.
