Just hours before allegedly bashing his aunt to death with a brick, Jamie May posted online that he was "getting ready for a mad night so lookout i reckon its gonna be something i wont regret".
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He ended the night on Friday naked, covered in blood and under police guard in hospital following a horrific incident that has baffled police.
Mr May was refused bail in Central Local Court on Tuesday over the murder of Judy Townsend, 61, a regular churchgoer and highly-respected member of the local Aboriginal community in Redfern.
Police set up five different crime scenes around Morehead St on Friday night and are trying to determine if Mr May was involved in several altercations with other people and whether his 61 year-old aunt innocently tried to intervene.
"There's obviously been a disturbance, it's clear something has happened prior to the final incident but we're not quite sure what exactly," a police spokesman said.
After the suspected altercations, Mr May allegedly turned on his aunt and bashed her with a brick.
Neighbours in her unit block called Triple-O about 10pm and Mrs Townsend was taken to St Vincent's Hospital with severe head injuries. She died a short time later.
Mr May was arrested at the scene, naked and covered in blood. He remained under police guard in hospital until he was released from hospital and charged on Monday.
A family member posted online that Mrs Townsend had tried to stop a fight occurring in the unit block between her nephew and an unknown man. It is not known why Mr May was naked.
Mrs Townsend and her husband, Ralph, were well-known local identities and outspoken members of the St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Redfern for decades.
Mr Townsend was one of three parishioners chosen to travel to Rome in 2010 to witness the canonisation of Mary MacKillop.
He had previously spoken to The Sydney Morning Herald about the local church and had advocated for a local priest who was understanding towards Aboriginal people.
A church member, Jack Callaghan, sent an email to parishioners describing Mrs Townsend as a "gentle lady".
"Ralph and the late greatly loved Judy have been part of our community for over twenty years . Very rarely has a Sunday and/or Friday gone by that they have not both been with us," he wrote.
"Judy was with us at the sharing of the meal on Friday. She was such a gentle lady."
Family members took to social media to mourn the loss of Mrs Townsend while also coming to terms with Mr May's arrest.
A cousin, Bec Case, called Judy a "beautiful soul" and said that no one knew "the story".
Another family member said "none of you were there and know the whole story".
Father Nick Falzun, from St Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, said Mr Townsend was devastated by his wife's death but still attended church on Sunday and was being cared for by church members.
"He can't understand why it's happened," he said.
