A 17-year-old boy accused of murdering Melbourne woman Laa Chol during an altercation during a party in a short-stay city apartment has briefly appeared in court.
Ms Chol, 19, died at EQ Tower on Saturday morning.
Emergency services were called to the A'Beckett Street building shortly after 5:00am but she died at the scene.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named, appeared in a children's court today after being arrested and charged with Ms Chol's murder on Monday.
Flanked by two police, the teenager sat with his head down for much of the proceedings, except to acknowledge the magistrate.
His mother and brother were also in court.
As he was led out of court he briefly looked up to nod at the media and onlookers.
Police asked for ten weeks to prepare a brief for the case due to the large amount of evidence, including 50 hours of CCTV footage and many witnesses.
Police said a group had rented the city apartment for a party, and a dispute arose after a second group arrived.
Police said on Sunday they did not believe the second group was invited to the gathering by either the person who booked the apartment or Ms Chol.
They said they believed everyone at the apartment was in their late teens or early twenties.
Ms Chol was a second-year legal studies student and talented soccer player who has been remembered by friends on social media as a "positive and bright young lady".
Messages on Facebook described Ms Chol, from Pakenham in Melbourne's outer south-east, as someone who "always showed love" to those around her.
On the weekend police said suggestions the death was due to "warring factions" of South Sudanese youth were wrong.
"The suggestion Laa Chol was a member of a gang is just not true. That's not the information we are getting from the community or her family," Commander Stuart Bateson said on Sunday.
The accused will return to court for a committal mention on November 13.
