Backpacker hostel murder trial delayed

The murder trial of the man accused of starting a fire at an Australian backpacker hostel that killed 15 young travellers, including Limerick woman Julie O'Keeffe, has been postponed to February 18.

Itinerant fruit picker Robert Paul Long is charged with murdering 27-year-old West Australian twins Kelly and Stacey Slarke and arson at the Palace Hostel in Childers, a farming community 190 miles north of Brisbane.

Julie O' Keeffe was the only Irish person to die. Six of the 15 young people killed were British, four were Australians, two Dutch, one Japanese and one South Korean.

Police said they will wait until the two murder charges have been dealt with by the court before deciding whether to charge Long with the other 13 murders.

Court officials said the trial, which was due to start in Brisbane today, was one of ‘‘mammoth proportions’’ with approximately 160 witnesses, including up to 40 from overseas.