The trial for the man accused of murdering Wanganui man Whetu Hansen has been put off to late October.
It is the second time the trial has been put off to a later date. It was set to begin in the High Court at Palmerston North on June 29, then again yesterday .
Justice Alan MacKenzie said they were "confident" last week that the issues needing to be sorted would be addressed in time for the trial to begin this week but there were "some difficulties".
"It is not, in my view, appropriate for us to begin the trial today," he told the jury of six men and six women, who were empanelled last week.
"It is unfortunate that's had to happen but I must ensure that the trial that's conducted is a fair one, where there's been proper opportunity to consider all the material.
"If I were to proceed now, that would not be possible."
Whetu Hansen has been missing since late 2013. His body has never been recovered.
Mr Hansen was last seen on November 24, 2013 at a Wanganui petrol station. Police began looking for him on December 2, conducting a week-long search at a rural Linton property, and police and navy divers searched the Whanganui River in June last year.
A 56-year-old Palmerston North man was charged with his murder on May 20 last year. He has interim name suppression.
Justice MacKenzie discharged the jury and remanded the defendant in custody. The trial is set down for October 27 at this stage.