The Vancouver Island man charged with the deaths of his two young daughters, four-year-old Aubrey and six-year-old Chloe, appeared in court on Thursday in Victoria.
Wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, 43-year-old Andrew Berry stood still and appeared emotionless in his very brief first court appearance.
His duty counsel asked for the case to be put over until Feb. 1 so Berry could retain his own lawyer.
The judge implemented a “no-contact” with the girls’ mother Sarah Cotton.
WATCH: Global News coverage of the deaths of Chloe and Aubrey Berry
Police found their bodies in Berry’s Oak Bay apartment – where they’d been for an overnight visit – on Christmas Day after their mother reported the dad had failed to return them as scheduled.
Berry was found with self-inflicted wounds and was taken to hospital.
Court documents show the girls’ mother has been in a dispute with their father since their estrangement in 2013.
~With files from Amy Judd and Simon Little