The man accused of murdering British backpacker Caroline Stuttle admitted to police: “There was a fight and she went over the side,” an Australian court heard today

Sensational publicity about a man arrested and charged over a hostel fire in Australia that killed 15 young backpackers - including Limerick woman Julie O'Keeffe - created “universal revulsion” and poisoned any chance he had of a fair trial, his lawyer told an appeal court Tuesday.

A drifter who started a blaze that ripped through an Australian backpackers’ hostel, killing 15 young holidaymakers, including a Limerick woman, was today sentenced to life imprisonment.

A Brisbane Supreme Court jury was unable to reach a verdict today in the trial of accused Childers hostel arsonist Robert Paul Long.

A homeless fruit picker today pleaded not guilty to murder and arson charges linked to a devastating blaze that ripped through an Australian backpackers’ hostel, killing 15 tourists nearly two years ago.