The man accused of murdering Gurjit Singh will remain behind bars as his new lawyer comes to grips with the case.
Rajinder, 33, appeared briefly in the High Court at Dunedin yesterday, represented by counsel Anne Stevens KC who recently took on the file.
The defendant previously pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Singh and has been in custody since charges were laid in February.
Recently, a three-week trial was scheduled to begin in November next year.
Mrs Stevens told the court little progress could be made since she was "somewhat overwhelmed" with the amount of evidential disclosure being provided by police.
Mr Singh, 27 — who had been married in India only months before his death — was found dead at his Pine Hill home on January 29 and an extensive police inquiry was launched.
Rajinder was arrested more than a week later.
The Otago Punjabi Foundation Trust set up a Givealittle page in the aftermath, which raised nearly $46,000 from almost 1000 donors in three weeks.
Months after Rajinder was charged, 29-year-old Gurpreet Kaur was also accused of involvement in the aftermath of the killing.
She appeared in the Dunedin District Court last week, where she pleaded not guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Court documents said the woman attempted to dispose of a pair of shoes which were evidence of the murder of Mr Singh.
