A man has denied the racially-aggravated murder of a scientist on a Dundee street.
Kyler Rattray, 21, is accused of attacking Dr Fortune Gomo in South Street in July last year.
Prosecutors allege the 39-year-old academic was repeatedly struck on the body with a knife and that the attack was aggravated by prejudice relating to race, colour nationality or ethnicity.
The trial is due to begin on 5 January 2028 at the High Court in Dundee and is expected to last eight days.
Rattray also faces a separate charge of illegally having a knife in a public place.
The case called at a virtual hearing at the High Court in Glasgow earlier.
Iain Paterson KC, defending, said: “He is pleading not guilty to the charge.
“This is a troubling case – there is no getting away from it. The situation is we are still looking into his mental health issues.
“We have instructed Prof Baron Cohen to provide information on whether Mr Rattray has autism which might link it to a mental health defence – whether his responsibility was diminished regarding this particular crime.”
He added: “I don’t have a date for which he will provide a report but we will get one in the next couple of months.
“The case has been ongoing for some time and for the family, we need to progress matters and I ask that a trial be fixed.”
Dr Gomo was found fatally injured on the street and was treated by paramedics at the scene, but never recovered.
At the time, Police Scotland acknowledged that her death had caused great shock throughout Dundee.
She was originally from Mutare in eastern Zimbabwe, had graduated with a PhD from Dundee University, and had recently started working for Scottish Water.