Accused killer Greg Lynn has described being thrown in the prison "dungeon" and attacked with faeces as he pushes to be released on bail.
Lynn, 60, is charged with the murder of Carol Clay, 73, who went missing from Victoria's High Country while camping in March 2020 with her friend Russell Hill, 74.
Lynn was granted a retrial in December, with the appeal court finding he had suffered a substantial miscarriage of justice in his first trial.
In a Victorian Supreme Court bail application on Thursday, he testified about his conditions in custody.
Lynn told the court he had been assaulted at Melbourne Assessment Prison during his first trial where another inmate threw a milk bottle filled with faeces on him.
"I had to go straight to my cell and I rinsed for a very long time," he said in evidence.
"It was a disgusting attack."
Lynn told the court he had been placed in the "dungeon", or solitary confinement, after that incident because it was not safe for him to be among other inmates, who had identified him as "Greg Lynn from TV"
He was eventually moved to a different prison but said he was assaulted a second time in July, when another inmate poked and spat on him after Lynn accused him of being a police informer.
"He confronted me and was just ready to explode, like Vesuvius ready to erupt," Lynn said.
"He mentioned he had killed before and he would kill again ... and then he made an insult that I was a killer of old people.
"My response was that I hadn't killed anyone."
Under questioning from the prosecutor, Lynn said he believed there were inmates who were making up lies and trying to inform on him to the police.
"I am the victim here," Lynn said.
His barrister Dermot Dann KC told the court Lynn's vulnerability in custody amounted to an exceptional reason to be released on bail.
Lynn had already spent a long time on remand and that period would extend further as his re-trial would not begin until May, Mr Dann said.
Senior crown prosecutor Mark Gibson KC conceded there was no risk alleged but he still opposed bail, arguing there were no exceptional reasons for Lynn’s release.
Mr Gibson told the court five years on remand was not inordinate and Lynn had chosen to remain in isolation.
The prosecutor accepted the first assault happened but described the second incident as an “altercation” that was sparked by Lynn’s disparaging comment to another prisoner.
“It is a little bit different from a targeted attack,” Mr Gibson said.
Chief Justice Richard Niall has reserved his decision.
