Alexander Channer denies Helston's Colin Payne's murder
A man has denied murdering a retired postmaster who was found dead in his flat in west Cornwall.
Alexander Channer, 54, from Tewington Place, St Austell, admitted manslaughter, but the prosecution at Exeter Crown Court rejected his plea.
Mr Channer's trial will be held in April at Truro Crown Court.
The body of Colin Payne, 72, was discovered in a flat at Sanctuary Lane in Helston on 17 June.
Prosecutor Simon Laws QC rejected Mr Channer's plea and said it remains the Crown's case that there was an intention to kill.
Judge Francis Gilbert QC adjourned the case and extended custody time limits to enable Mr Channer's continued detention.
Mr Payne was a former postmaster who ran post offices at Ashton and Porthleven in west Cornwall before retiring to Helston.