Korp's diary, video for sale

MELBOURNE - Joe Korp's diary and a video he shot days before his suicide are set to go to the highest media bidder after a Victorian court cleared the way today for their immediate sale.

The items are expected to detail the innermost thoughts of the 47-year-old Melbourne man who killed himself last week while facing charges over a fatal attack on his wife Maria Korp.

The Victorian Supreme Court yesterday approved an application lodged on behalf of Gust Korp, Joe Korp's brother and executor of his will, to have the items returned by police who seized them on Monday.

Justice Simon Whelan effectively removed the diary and video from the frozen assets of Joe Korp, months ahead of the formal processing of his will, saying it was for the "protection of the estate".

Justice Whelan said his ruling should "by no means" be taken as the court's endorsement of any impending sale to a media outlet.

But he agreed with the argument that the diary and video would be worth less in terms of public interest as the story waned.

The court heard that several unnamed media outlets had expressed an interest in buying exclusive publishing rights.

Gust Korp was directed to "sell the video to the best option" by Joe Korp in his will which, it also emerged, he wrote on August 11, a day before his suicide.

"There is a provision in the will referring to a video produced by the deceased," Justice Whelan said yesterday.

"Gust Korp wishes to follow the provisions of the will and he believes that the value will decline if the video is not released until ... probate is granted."

"My only concern is the protection of the estate (and) I otherwise say nothing of the course of selling the diary and the video to the media."

The money raised by the sale will be held in a trust fund for the beneficiaries of Joe Korp's will, Justice Whelan said.

Lawyer Alan Marshall, representing Gust Korp, said he had not seen the video or diary and could not comment on their contents.

In another move, Justice Whelan also granted him the right to represent Gust Korp in a possible appeal to an earlier court ruling affecting Maria Korp's will.

The court moves are the latest twists in the increasingly tragic mum-in-the-boot case.

Maria Korp, 50, was found unconscious after being left for dead in the boot of her car near Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance on February 13, four days after she disappeared from her home.

She died on August 5 after being in a vegetative state in The Alfred hospital for nearly six months and 10 days after doctors stopped tube feeding under the authorisation of her guardian.

Joe Korp hanged himself in a shed on Friday night, just hours after his wife Maria's funeral in suburban Melbourne.

He had been committed to stand trial for her attempted murder and his lawyer said he maintained his innocence.

His former lover, Tania Herman, has been jailed for a minimum of nine years after pleading guilty to attempting to murder Mrs Korp.

She claimed Joe Korp devised the murder plan which she carried out.

- AAP