Cy Walsh pleads not guilty to murder over death of his father, Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh

CY Walsh still faces a jury trial for the murder of his father, former Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh, because prosecutors have yet to concede he was mentally ill at the time of the alleged incident.

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CY Walsh still faces a jury trial for the murder of his father, former Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh, because prosecutors have yet to concede he was mentally ill at the time of the killing.

Walsh on Monday faced the Supreme Court by video link and listened as prosecutors said they intended to investigate his claim of mental incompetence rather than simply accept it.

That decision prompted the suppression of key aspects of the case, but also resulted in the court removing previous publication bans about the matter.

The Advertiser can now reveal the prosecution case so far is built on more than 80 statements from Walsh’s family and friends, both in Adelaide and interstate.

Other witnesses include university staff, counsellors, police officers, pathologists and past and present players for both the Adelaide and Port Adelaide football clubs.

The case also involves CCTV footage and photos, including pictures of the crime scene dubbed “too sensitive for publication” by prosecutors.

A mental health expert has already assessed Walsh and authored a report on behalf of defence counsel while a second is being prepared.

Cy Walsh has been charged with murder but his legal team has flagged a defence of mental incompetence.

Lucy Boord, prosecuting, asked the court to order a third expert opinion.

She said that report, like the witness statements and the photos, dealt with “sensitive” elements and it was “too soon” for any of those to be made public.

“We’ve requested suppression of the contents of any witness statements and reports that have been tendered, both psychological and psychiatric,” she said.

“There may yet be a trial in this matter, and it would be prejudicial for that information to be published in the circumstances.”

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Prosecutors have alleged Walsh, 26, killed the beloved football coach in their home in the early hours of Friday, July 3 last year.

Prior to his death, Phil Walsh spoke in an interview about wanting to “reconnect” with his son, saying his obsession with football made family life difficult at times.

In online accounts, Cy Walsh spoke of a seemingly idyllic lifestyle combining family time with overseas travel, and invited international visitors to “couch surf” in their home.

Previously, the court has heard prosecutors sought toxicology results from Walsh’s hair and that the case will touch on issues of mental incompetence and drug-induced psychosis.

Prosecutors also successfully applied to have key evidence in the case — made available to the media by a magistrate — suppressed from publication.

They claimed key witnesses had “gone to ground” following a TV news report that breached that suppression order.

Under state law, a person found not guilty by reason of mental incompetence is liable to a limiting term, which is a period in health detention equal to a jail sentence.

Slain Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh.

On Monday, Walsh appeared in court by video link with the secure James Nash House facility, where he has been detained since his arrest.

Clean-shaven and wearing a short-sleeved bottle green shirt, he sat listening — hands in his lap, jaw cocked to the right — to the court proceedings.

Asked to enter his plea to murder, he answered “not guilty” in a clear voice.

Walsh’s counsel confirmed their client was denying responsibility on the basis of mental illness, and that they had tendered an expert report supporting that conclusion.

Ms Boord, however, said prosecutors had yet to concede to that medical opinion.

She said the court would have to conduct an investigation into whether Walsh was suffering from a mental illness or intellectual disability at the time of the alleged murder.

Ms Boord asked Walsh be required to undergo examination by a psychiatrist of the DPP’s choosing to ascertain whether or not he should stand trial before a jury.

Acting Justice Michael David agreed to order the report and conduct the examination.

“The next stage of this case is whether there will be a concession, by the DPP, to the claim of mental incompetence,” he said.

“There’s still the a possibility that there may well be a trial in this matter.”

He remanded Walsh in detention until April.

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