Simon Kepenci, 39, told police after his arrest for the murder of Gordon Harvey "I would have loved to skin him and f--k him, and do a lot of s--t".

Mr Harvey, 62, was murdered in his Fitzroy shop, Fetish, some time between January 17 and 19 this year.

Kepenci, of North Fitzroy, later returned to the shop and set it on fire. He was arrested on January 21, and pleaded guilty to murder in May.

"You saw the blood. And I bloody enjoyed it," Kepenci told police after he was arrested, Crown prosecutor Kerri Judd QC told the Supreme Court of Victoria on Thursday.

When police asked him if he felt regret for his crime Kepenci said "that's the thing, no – nothing. I don't regret it. If I feel like this again, there is nothing stopping me".

When told answers to questions might help Mr Harvey's family get closure, he said "f--k him, f--k the family, f--k you, f--k everybody".

Kepenci's answers were read out in court with members of Mr Harvey's family present.

Mr Harvey's son Adam read a statement to court about his father's "forgiving nature and his belief in human decency".

"I cannot fathom why or how someone could just take life away so ruthlessly."

As Adam Harvey read the statement from the witness box, Kepenci stared at him impassively.

His defence counsel Rebekah Sleeth told the court Kepenci was unable to provide a reason why he killed Mr Harvey.

At the time of his death, Mr Harvey and Kepenci had been in a regular sexual relationship after meeting online.

The relationship had cooled off by mid-2015 after Mr Harvey accused Kepenci of stealing his car.

But on January 17 the pair communicated online and arranged to meet for sex at Mr Harvey's shop in Brunswick Street where he was also living.

Kepenci arrived that night at 9.04pm.

At some time between January 17 and 19 Kepenci attacked Mr Harvey with a hammer, beating him several times on the back of the skull and killing him.

Kepenci then went back to Fetish several times over the next few days to retrieve items including a computer, before finally setting fire to the shop on the morning of January 19. He left the scene in Mr Harvey's car.

Before Mr Harvey took over the ownership of Fetish from a former business partner, he served a long career as an educator. He was assistant principal at Kurunjang Secondary College in Melton, between 2007 and 2010, among other appointments.

Since his death many former students have contacted his children with messages about how important a formative influence in their lives he was.

Kepenci's counsel Rebekah Sleeth said her client had a "death wish", had stopped taking his HIV medication for a time, and was confused and ashamed about his sexuality.

Kepenci faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Justice Paul Coghlan adjourned the pre-sentence hearing for a date to be fixed while a psychiatric evaluation of Kepenci is conducted.