Jonah Francois Charpentier, 22, of Bowen Hills, faced Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday dressed in a green prison jumpsuit and brown jumper.
Charpentier had originally not been required to appear but the police prosecutor Matt Kahler told Magistrate Julian Noud that he had family members present who wished to see him.
The accused man spoke briefly to three family members in court from behind the glass screens of the dock before breaking down in tears and holding his face in his hands.
The accused was charged overnight with murder after Dylan James Coote, 39 was allegedly fatally stabbed following an argument.
Police were called to a multi-storey apartment block on Hamilton Place in Bowen Hills in Brisbane's inner north about 4.15am on Sunday.
Officers discovered Mr Coote with life-threatening stab wounds to the chest and back. He was transported to hospital but was declared dead a short time later.
During a brief court appearance on Monday, Charpentier's solicitor told Mr Noud she was seeking a four-week adjournment.
There was no application for bail and Mr Noud adjourned the matter until May 6 in Brisbane Magistrates Court.
Charpentier again turned to his family members and broke down crying when Mr Noud adjourned the court for a morning tea break.
Acting Detective Inspector Murray O'Connell said the victim was involved in an argument with two other people in an apartment before he was stabbed.
He said the victim had attempted to remove himself from the crime scene before emergency services arrived to provide assistance.
Det Insp O'Connell said it was a traumatic scene for first responders.
"There was some blood there, as you would expect given the stab injuries," he told reporters on Sunday.
He said a 22-year-old man and 45-year-old woman, both known to the victim and believed to live at the Bowen Hills apartment, assisted police with their investigations on Sunday afternoon.
