It will be another 12 days before we know when Mohammed Shamji will face trial for the alleged murder of his wife.

Elana Fric-Shamji's body was found stuffed in a suitcase by the side of a road in Kleinburg in late 2016. Her husband is charged with first-degree murder and committing an indignity to human remains.

While it was expected a date for trial would be set during a court appearance on Friday, a date for a judicial pre-trial was booked instead.

At the closed-door meeting on April 18, lawyers will discuss legal issues in the case, the probable duration of a trial and any possibility of resolution without trial.

Wearing a dark grey suit and light blue-grey collared shirt without a tie, Shamji fidgeted in the prisoner's box after his handcuffs were removed.

Relatives of the neurosurgeon did not appear to be in court Friday. While supporters of Fric-Shamji, who was also a physican, jammed a courtroom with purple ribbons against domestic violence pinned to their clothes at Shamji's last appearance, they too were absent.

