Aiia Maasarwe's killer admits guilt after courtroom confusion

An aspiring rapper shocked a Melbourne courtroom by pleading not guilty to raping murdered international student Aiia Maasarwe, before reverting back to his original guilty plea.

Codey Herrmann pleaded guilty last week to killing Ms Maasarwe, whose body was found near a tram stop in Melbourne's north on January 16.

But when he was officially arraigned in the Supreme Court today he stroked his beard and answered "not guilty" to the rape charge, prompting intervention from his barrister and a do-over where he pleaded guilty to both charges.

Herrmann's case will return to court on October 1.

Ms Maasarwe, a 21-year-old Arab-Israeli exchange student, had been in Melbourne a short time and was speaking on FaceTime to her sister when she was attacked.

Her body was found behind a hedge outside a nearby shopping centre in Bundoora, about 100 metres from the tram stop where she alighted.

After Herrmann's initial guilty plea last week, Ms Maasarwe's father Saeed said he was relieved.

"It's not easy, we tried to continue the normal life," he told 9News.

"We tried the maximum as we can - sometimes successful more, sometimes successful less but the life, we need to continue.

"We don't have another choice."

Mr Maasarwe said he was glad Herrmann is off the streets.

"Now he's in the jail he cannot hurt any more people, not take the life of more people," he said from the family home in Israel.

"This is (a) better feeling, because you know, this is not freedom – he's in the jail where he should be."

But he said he lived with the loss of his daughter every day. "All the day all the night, all the time, any place you go you think about this," Mr Maasarwe said.

"We lose the most important thing in this life."

Ms Maasarwe came to Melbourne in 2018 for a one-year exchange program at La Trobe University, as part of her business studies at Shanghai University.

"She was living a dream in Melbourne, a dream that ended up being worst (sic) than a nightmare," the sibling posted on Instagram a short time after the death.

Ms Maasarwe's family have asked for certain details about her death to not be released.

Herrmann, homeless at the time and living in a squat, was arrested in Greensborough on January 18 after a two-day manhunt for Ms Maasarwe's killer.

It was later revealed that a week before the murder, Herrman had posted on Facebook: "International girl of mystery you knows (sic) who you are."