A 31-year old man wept in the dock of Belfast Crown Court where he denied a charge of manslaughter.
Edward Kelly, whose address was given as HMP Maghaberry, confirmed his identity to a court clerk and was then charged with unlawfully killing David James Henry Conville on May 30 2022.
When the manslaughter charge was put to Kelly he paused, rubbed his face with a handkerchief then replied "not guilty".
Although no details regarding the fatal incident were aired during Wednesday's arraignment, a previous hearing was told Mr Conville (34) died in hospital from a head injury following an assault in the Abington Drive area of Belfast.
After Kelly entered his plea, Judge Donna McColgan KC set the date for trial as Monday November 27 but said she would review the case on September 20.
She remanded Kelly back into custody and as he was being led from the dock in handcuffs by prison staff, he turned to face Mr Conville's family as they sat in the public gallery.
This prompted a brief outburst directed at Kelly which ended when a court official intervened.