A jury has been told to leave out emotion as it considers the question of whether accused Bourke Street murderer James Gargasoulas is mentally fit to stand trial.
Gargasoulas, 28, has faced closing submissions in a Supreme Court hearing that will decide if he is fit to face trial on six counts of murder and 28 attempted murder charges.
Justice Lex Lasry urged the jury to ignore feelings of sympathy as the 12 jurors retired to begin deliberations on Monday afternoon.
"You should not be influenced by what actually occurred that day," Justice Lasry said in his final address.
"There will be strong emotions. But they don't play a part.
"Your sole task is to decide if the accused is fit or unfit to stand trial."
The jury did not reach a verdict by the end of Monday and will continue deliberations on Tuesday.
Gargasoulas is accused of running down pedestrians in Melbourne's CBD in January 2017, killing six people, including two children.
The defence argues Gargasoulas is mentally unfit because he is "profoundly psychotic", unresponsive to treatment and believes he is the "Messiah" sent to save the world from "cataclysmic destruction".
"He identifies himself as the king of kings and the ruler of the universe," defence barrister Theo Alexander said in his closing address.
"He's the Messiah here to save us from a comet."
But prosecutors say Gargasoulas should face trial, arguing he is capable of making decisions about his defence and understanding his case.
"It's obviously the case that he is a disturbed person beset by bizarre beliefs about himself but that does not mean that he cannot think," crown prosecutor Andrew Tinney SC said.
"(He) has the presence of mind to know that if it's his lot in life to be saving the world, he wants to be doing that from the relative comfort of Thomas Embling Hospital, rather than the 23-hour lockdown of prison."
Family members of the victims watched the hearing from the upstairs public gallery of the vast courtroom on Monday as Gargasoulas sat in the dock in a grey tracksuit.
Four medical experts last week testified about his mental state, and all agree he has paranoid schizophrenia.
Two psychiatrists believe Gargasoulas is unfit to stand trial but one psychologist, Michael Daffern, believes he is fit.
Mr Tinney urged jurors to listen to Professor Daffern, saying he was "extraordinarily well qualified" and his assessment was thorough and compelling.
Australian Associated Press
