The man at the centre of a brutal alleged home invasion killing of a beloved children’s doctor was back at court today, but the case against him has been pushed back two weeks after his lawyer claimed he and his client were still in the dark about some of the prosecution’s evidence.
Kerem Aydin appeared before magistrate Simon Smart at Adelaide Magistrate Court on Tuesday, charged with the murder of Dr Michael Yung at the doctor’s leafy Adelaide home in December last year.
Mr Aydin was scheduled for a committal hearing but his defence counsel asked for an adjournment, arguing he had not received the evidence brief.
“We are in the process of obtaining the full brief from his previous instructor and we do not believe that we have the full brief just yet,” Mr Aydin’s lawyer said.
Mr Smart shot back: “You’re not entitled to the full brief, you are entitled to the preliminary brief.”
“Yes, but we don’t believe we have had everything that has previously been disclosed,” Mr Aydin’s lawyer replied.
“So we are not able to give Mr Aydin advice in relation to the material that has been disclosed.”
Mr Aydin’s counsel further said he had met with his client on Tuesday and “it was plain he has not seen any of the material himself”.
“Pieces of the information of the evidence has been explained to him,” he said.
Mr Smart granted the adjournment and listed Mr Aydin’s next committal hearing for May 29.
The court was also told that crucial DNA and blood spatter material in the case would not be available until September.
Mr Aydin appeared via videolink from custody.
His partner, Jacinta Davila, also appeared in court in person, charged with “assisting an offender” in the alleged crime.
Ms Davila was initially charged with murder, but the prosecution dropped the charge in December and chief magistrate Mary-Louise Hribal officially struck it off in March.
On Wednesday, the prosecution asked for a September 25 answer charge date for when Ms Davila will enter her pleas.
Aaron Almedia, appearing for Ms Davila, did not object and Mr Smart adjourned the matter until then.
Dr Yung, a widely respected pediatrician and intensive care specialist, died from his injuries on December 12.
Police arrested Mr Aydin and Ms Davila that same day at a shopping centre.
CCTV footage shows the couple calmly walking out the door of the shopping centre moments before police appear and tackle Mr Aydin from behind.
Ms Davila, who was pushing a pram, appears to attempt to make a run for it before she is stopped by heavily armed STAR Group officers.
Mr Aydin has not applied for bail and remains in custody on remand.
At a December court appearance, magistrate Michael Jandy granted Ms Davila the freedom to be with her baby at an inner-city address while the case against her progressed.
On Wednesday, Ms Davila declined to make any statement as she left court and moved quickly into a waiting black car.
Dr Yung established a pediatric ICU in Kilifi, Kenya, and also worked in remote Indigenous communities across Australia.
“He was a wise and patient teacher and mentor to generations of aspiring ICU doctors,” his family said in a statement.
“He was loved and respected by his colleagues, staff and students and all those who were privileged to know and work with him.”
In 2020, Dr Yung established the Kathryn Browne-Yung Foundation charity in the name of his late wife who died suddenly three years ago.
The foundation supports scholarships for Indigenous medical students, and Dr Yung’s family have invited people who would like to honour his memory to do so by donating to the foundation.