Queenstown 'like Mars', says Ice Man

Stephen Royds says he has quite a story to tell, but he's not ready yet. Photo / Supplied

The New Zealand man jailed in the US, who kept his dead girlfriend's body on ice for a year, says being back home in Queenstown is "like Mars".

Stephen Royds, 48, was recently released from prison after serving half of a four-year sentence for drug convictions.

He was arrested in 2008 after the body of his girlfriend Monique Felicia Trepp was found at a hotel in California, where he was living.

This week he was spotted at his parents' home in Queenstown, sorting through the family garage. Describing what it was like to be back home, he told Mountain Scene: "It's like Mars."

Sporting a smile, he fobbed off questions surrounding the incident that has now made his name infamous.

"I've got quite a story to tell - but I'm not ready to tell it yet."

His parents, Sally and John Royds - a former Queenstown deputy mayor - had not seen their son, who was living a life of luxury in the US, for around 22 years.

His mother Sally told the Herald on Sunday this week that her son was enjoying being back in New Zealand, eating mashed potatoes and lamb.

"He's just getting oriented and finding his feet in the real world," she told the paper. "He'll stay in New Zealand and think about what he wants to do - he's a grown man now."

Trepp, a 33-year-old former cheerleader, stripper and waitress, was found in a plastic container, where she had been preserved with dry ice for a year. It was later established that she had died from a drug overdose.

Royds was not charged with failing to report her death.