A MURDER trial jury has been sent home early because of accused killer Alex Reuben McEwan's mental state.

Former Ipswich man Mr McEwan has pleaded not guilty to murdering student Eunji Ban, who was brutally attacked in central Brisbane in 2013 and her body left in Wickham Park.

At Brisbane Supreme Court, Justice Jean Dalton sent jurors home before noon on Tuesday, for reasons she attributed to Mr McEwan's "present state of mind".

In a recording played to jurors earlier on Tuesday, Mr McEwan told police he "stomped" on Ms Ban, a 22 year-old student from Korea.

"I killed her, stomped her face in with my feet and my fist, dragged her across the road," Mr McEwan, then aged 19, said after his arrest in November 2013.

Ms Ban, a 22 year-old from Korea, was found dead in Brisbane's Wickham Park on November 24 that year.

"She's only just new to Australia. She's just an innocent person. It's f***ed up. I wish I could take it all back," Mr McEwan said in the recording.

"I wish I could do anything to help the family but obviously I can't."

The apprentice spray painter also told police he contemplated killing himself, going on the run, or turning himself in.

Detective Sergeant Michael Hall told the court Mr McEwan "put his hand to his head in the shape of a gun" and made a shooting gesture.

Last week, Mr McEwan's parents told the jury their son previously spoke of a demon or sinister presence troubling him.

The trial continues.

- NewsRegional