A man who admitted to raping and murdering a six-year-old girl more than 30 years ago has had boiling water poured on his groin during a prison attack, his defence lawyer has claimed.
Gregory Keith Davies, 74, was only linked with the 1984 murder of Kylie Maybury last year.
The youngster never returned after she left her home in the Melbourne suburb of Preston to buy sugar for her mother at a local shop. Her body was found in a gutter.
Detectives arrested him last year after a tip-off and connected him to the brutal attack. After Davies gave a voluntary DNA sample, they were able to make a DNA match with semen found on Kylie’s underpants.
He ad mitted to the sexual a ss ault and murder on what was supposed to be the first day of his pre-tri al committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on 29 May.
But at his plea hearing, his lawyer asked the court for more time because the injuries to his groin had left him in "considerable pain".
Mr Gibson told the Supreme Court of Victoria that Davies had been attacked while in custody in Port Phillip Prison in July.
He added that he was currently being treated in hospital for his injuries and had only recently been able to get back on his feet.
“He is in extreme discomfort, he's had skin grafts to 15 per cent of his body. Those grafts are now tightening up and causing him considerable pain,” Mr Gibson said.
He asked for the plea hearing to be adjourned while the attack on Davies was investigated and a psychiatric report was carried out on his client. It is understood that charges are not expected to be levelled in the attack on Davies.
Crown prosecutor Mark Rochford argued against the request, saying the plea hearing set for September 21 could not be delayed.
He added that Kylie’s family had bought plane tickets to attend the court, and should not be inconvenienced.
But Justice Lex Lasry agreed to adjourn the hearing until November 27 after taking Mr Gibson’s arguments into account.
