The wife of a man accused of murdering five family members may give evidence at his Sydney committal hearing, a magistrate has been told.
Crown prosecutor Kara Shead foreshadowed an application for Kathy Lin to be a witness at the hearing of Lian Bin "Robert" Xie, 48.
He is accused of murdering his brother-in-law, Min "Norman" Lin, 45, Mr Lin's wife, Yun Li "Lily" Lin, 43, her sister, Yun Bin "Irene" Yin, 39, and two boys who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Their bodies were found in a house at North Epping, in Sydney's northwest, on July 18, 2009.
They had been beaten to death, with asphyxia determined to be a contributing factor in four of the killings.
A hearing about witnesses to be called at the committal was due to be held in Central Local Court on Thursday.
Ms Shead said the crown application for Kathy Lin to be a committal witness was opposed by the defence.
But she asked for an adjournment to rectify the fact that two interview statements given by Ms Lin did not comply with sections of the Criminal Procedure Act.
Ms Shead also told Magistrate Julie Huber the crown had consented to call 13 witnesses at the committal.
She referred to scientific material being provided to the defence, including a fifth DNA report.
A sixth report was being prepared in relation to issues raised during Xie's recent unsuccessful bail application in the NSW Supreme Court, she said.
Graham Turnbull, SC, for Xie, said his client was "confident science will prove his innocence".
The crown application for Ms Lin to give evidence was set down for July 10.
The committal hearing, expected to last two weeks, was set down to begin on August 20.
