An undercover investigation into a cold case included police surveillance of an alleged murderer while he was on a "remote" camping trip to Cape York.
Police were tailing Joseph Vekony, 69, when he went on a family holiday travelling from Melbourne to the northernmost tip of Australia, the ACT Supreme Court heard on Thursday.
Vekony was arrested shortly after returning from the trip in December 2023, accused of the brutal murder of Irma Palasics almost 25 years ago.
Co-accused Steve Fabriczy, 69, and Vekony are expected to face a trial to fight the accusation.
The two Melbourne men allegedly killed 72-year-old Irma Palasics, bashed husband Gregor, and ransacked the couple's McKellar home on November 6, 1999.
The elderly couple were bound and are said to have been viciously beaten as the men ransacked their home, stealing $30,000 worth of cash and jewellery.
Fabriczy and Vekony have pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges associated with the alleged robbery.
Bid for freedom denied
Vekony remains behind bars after a failed bid for freedom on Thursday.
Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson said Vekony's Hungarian citizenship, lack of ties to the ACT, and "potential for removal to remote locations" meant she could not grant bail.
The application was heard following a finding in May, that Canberra's jail had for many years allowed sentenced and non-sentenced prisoners to be housed together.
This is a breach of the territory's Human Rights Act.
Giving evidence on Thursday, Detective Sergeant Craig Marriott said Vekony was a flight risk because he had handed in his Australian passport, but not his Hungarian passport.
Defence lawyer, Dr Jan de Bruin argued there was no evidence the passport was "deliberately kept" in order to "escape a trial".
Dr de Bruin proposed bail conditions including for Vekony to return to Melbourne while reporting to police daily, being subject to a curfew, and being under the supervision of family members.
Ultimately, Justice Loukas-Karlsson found these conditions "were not adequate".
'Camping is a quite popular activity'
Vekony and Fabriczy were arrested following a lengthy police investigation spanning about three years.
Police claim that after the home invasion, two unidentified DNA profiles were found on a plastic water jug and a milk container in the refrigerator.
The sample from the milk jug was allegedly linked to Fabriczy via a DNA database more than two decades later.
Details of an ensuing undercover sting, including a fictitious crime syndicate and corrupt police officer, which lead to the arrests, were previously revealed through court documents.
Giving evidence on Thursday, Detective Sergeant Marriott went into new details about the investigation.
He said Fabriczy had identified Vekony "as having involvement in the homicide" which then sparked "a period of surveillance" and further DNA analysis.
The court heard that in the month before his arrest, Vekony went on a camping trip with his family and travelled from Melbourne to Cape York.
Undercover police officers surveilled Vekony during this time.
On Thursday, Detective Sergeant Marriott said "it seems to be a passion of [Vekony's] to travel throughout Australia".
Dr de Bruin had argued "most Australians do like to travel, and camping is a quite popular activity".
"The ability to camp would not make one ineligible for bail," he said.
Fabriczy and Vekony are set to face court again next month.
