Aussie alleged killer to stand trial

Campbell Paterson of Napier was found cut into pieces in rural Australia last November.

A man accused of a grisly Queensland killing in which a Napier father was cut into pieces and stuffed in a chilly bin has been committed to stand trial.

Police found the remains of Campbell Paterson's body after a public tip-off led them to bushland southeast of Cairns, in the state's Far North region, on November 20.

Mr Paterson had disappeared seven days previously. Police had searched for him after he failed to appear in court on drugs and violence charges.

He was working in Cairns and returning to Napier, where his wife and four children live, every few months.

Cairns resident David Leslie Hickson, 32, was charged with Mr Paterson's murder and interference with a corpse, after police searched a Cairns home, a week after the body was found. Police said Mr Paterson and Hickson were known to each other.

Hickson, who has been in custody since November, also faces a string of unrelated charges, ranging from common assault to drug possession.

The Cairns Post reported he appeared via video link in the Cairns Magistrates Court this week, where he declined to enter a plea to the charge of murdering Mr Paterson and interfering with a corpse. He did not make a bail application and was remanded in custody.

He is due to appear again later this month on the other charges, including two counts of common assault.

The date of the trial has yet to be determined. It is understood 100 people provided statements in relation to the case, which will be tabled as exhibits in the trial.

Hickson is due to appear on July 22 in the Cairns Magistrates Court regarding the unrelated matters.