Francesco Dimasi granted bail but committed to trial in SA's Supreme Court after allegedly killing wife

A man accused of killing his 85-year-old wife at their home in Adelaide's west has been committed to the state's highest court to stand trial, despite not entering a plea to murder.

Francesco Dimasi, 92, is accused of the stabbing murder of his wife Maria Dimasi at their Findon home in December.

The court has previously heard that Mr Dimasi – who has dementia – was "heavily intoxicated" when he phoned police to tell them he had killed his wife and that when officers arrived, he was found covered in blood.

In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday, his lawyer Trish Johnson said that Mr Dimasi – who was not present at the hearing – would not enter a plea to one count of murder, but conceded there was a case to answer.

Chief Magistrate Judge Mary-Louise Hribal ordered Mr Dimasi be committed to the Supreme Court for arraignment and trial in September.

Mr Dimasi had been seeking bail to be moved to a residential aged care facility, with the court previously hearing there had been "pressure" from the Department of Corrections to have him relocated.

Ms Johnson previously told the court her client was also not able to access the pension while in custody, which meant he could not apply for a placement at a high-needs aged care facility.

She asked the court for Mr Dimasi to be granted bail and remain in the hospital where he currently resides until a suitable location becomes available.

A prosecutor said that she maintained "concerns", telling the court that guards needed to intervene up to twice a week on behalf of nurses at the medical facility where Mr Dimasi was being kept "under guard".

"It's unclear what security measures would be in place if the Correctional Services officer were not present," she said.

"The court would need to be satisfied that the community would be protected."

Ms Johnson told the court Mr Dimasi was "bed-bound" and would be treated like any patient in the hospital in the case of an emergency.

"It would be like any other hospital … if he was becoming violent, a Code Black would be called, and three trained security guards would come running," she said.

"He's not in any different position from a management point of view from any elderly person suffering from dementia."

Judge Hribal granted Mr Dimasi bail to remain at the hospital until a suitable aged care facility placement becomes available.

"I want to know what's available in terms of security officers and how they're set up … and if the residential aged care facility is going to have the ability to be able to declare a Code Black with three security officers," she said.

Outside court, Mrs Dimasi's daughter Reverend Carmel Ieraci said the family was "disappointed and distraught" with the court's decision.

"We feel that justice has not been served in light of the bail decision, as this adds further trauma to our family who are still grieving the loss of our precious mother Maria Dimasi who was [allegedly] murdered," she said.

"We want to thank SAPOL for their incredible support and we continue to hope that justice will prevail.