Cold case victim, 6, suffocated: Vic court

A six-year-old girl found dead in a Melbourne gutter the day after her disappearance in 1984 was suffocated, a court has heard.

Police allege Kylie Maybury was abducted by Gregory Keith Davies on Melbourne Cup Day 32 years ago, imprisoned overnight, then murdered.

The court heard Kylie died from suffocation and that a toxicology report indicated there was valium in her system.

The new details of the cold case emerged in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Thursday during a hearing to discuss how many witnesses will give evidence when Davies, 73, faces court next year.

Kylie and her mother had visited their Preston neighbour on November 6, 1984.

She was sent out to buy sugar and never returned.

Davies' defence team said they wanted to cross examine Kylie's mother on whether the girl could have had access to valium before she vanished.

"The mother says there's no way she took valium," the lawyer said.

"We want to explore if she could have while she was out of sight."

Davies was arrested and charged in June with abducting and murdering Kylie.

He was also charged with other offences.

Police alleged he imprisoned her on November 6 and murdered her on November 7.

Davies has previously unsuccessfully sought to have a DNA sample taken from him during the investigation destroyed.