Kiwi cold case murder accused remanded

Nella Celeste Poli. Photo / Supplied

Grant David Mitchel, the eccentric Kiwi who confessed to neighbours about committing murder almost 24 years ago before eventually handing himself into far north Queensland police, is scheduled to reappear in a Sydney court next month.

Mitchel, who is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend, 19-year-old Auckland barmaid Nella Celeste Poli, at Sydney in May 1987, surrendered to police in Atherton, south west of Cairns, on January 9.

He was extradited to New South Wales and initially appeared in court last Thursday. He has not entered a plea to the murder charges and was remanded in custody until February 17.

Mitchel is believed to have lived in various locations in tropical North Queensland since evading a police man hunt launched when Miss Poli was found strangled in her bed by her mother.

Mitchel's arrest surprised members of the tiny former tin mining town of Irvinebank, 130km inland from Cairns, although locals do remember the 61-year-old mentioning he killed someone - a claim that was routinely disregarded.

Known as "Badges" by locals because of the pins he wore on his cap, Mitchel used a variety of aliases and was a virtual recluse while living in Irvinebank.

- NZPA