The alleged reign of terror of Dimitrious "Jimmy" Gargasoulas lasted just minutes; his trial for multiple murders could stretch out beyond next year.
This, Supreme Court co-ordinator judge Lex Lasry argued on Friday, was "a very long time", considering the public interest in resolving the case as quickly as possible.
On Friday, Justice Lasry took the highly unusual – and perhaps even unprecedented – step of calling the matter before his court to interrogate the Director of Public Prosecutions about how the case against Mr Gargasoulas was progressing.
Mr Gargasoulas' lawyers were also invited to attend the special hearing, but Mr Gargasoulas himself did not attend.
Related Content
Given the gravity of the crimes alleged against Mr Gargasoulas, Justice Lasry said, there was a strong public interest in dealing with the criminal charges as quickly as possible.
Justice Lasry said that "cases like this" could get caught up in legal process for "months or even years" and the Supreme Court was "anxious to be involved ... as much as it can be".
"People are in custody and the community has to wait for the criminal justice system to take its course and I, in my own limited way, am trying to do something about that because of the public interest."
Director of Public Prosecutions John Champion SC told the court the case was complex and could be the "biggest" investigation Victorian prosecutors had ever had to manage.
Asking Justice Lasry to be "tolerant" of the time it would take to conduct the trial properly, Mr Champion said Mr Gargasoulas had not yet been committed to stand trial, the trial was unlikely to even start until next year, and police had hundreds more victims and witnesses to interview.
Justice Lasry replied: "That seems a very long time to me, I must say, with all due respect to everybody involved."
Mr Champion said: "I understand [your] comments and the public interest but the investigation, as I said, is a complex one ... one would suspect it's probably the biggest investigation of its type...with ramifications for hundreds of victims."
Six people died after Mr Gargasoulas' alleged massacre on Bourke Street on January 20. Thirty one were hospitalised. Some of them remain seriously injured.
He is charged with the murder of five of the dead: three-month-old baby Zachary Bryant, 10-year-old Thalia Hakin, 22-year-old Jess Mudie, 33-year-old Matthew Si and a 25-year-old Japanese national.
It's expected he will also be charged with the death of a sixth victim, 33-year-old Bhavita Patel.
It's understood to be the first time a murder case has been brought into the Supreme Court for case management before it has been resolved in the Magistrates Court.
There were thousands of witnesses to the horrific events in Bourke Street, and police have taken more than 420 statements in the weeks after the tragedy. They expect to take almost 500 more.
With Mr Gargasoulas yet to even be committed to stand trial, he is yet to enter a plea to five murder charges.
His case is listed for a mention in the Magistrates Court on August 1. His lawyers have flagged that if he appears at all, it will be via videolink.