Victim's body coming home

TRIBUTES: Family and friends have layed flowers at the mural Campbell Paterson created at the Maraenui Shopping Centre in 2002. PHOTO/PAUL TAYLOR

The body of murdered Napier man Campbell Paterson is expected to return to New Zealand today.
A public tip-off led detectives to discover the dismembered body of Mr Paterson in a chilly bin among thick bushland to the southeast of Cairns in far north Queensland last Thursday, Hawke's Bay Today revealed.
Queensland police are continuing to wait on official ID confirmation using DNA testing and as of yesterday Mr Paterson's remains were being held at the John Tonge mortuary in Brisbane.
Mr Paterson's Napier-based family said they are "desperately" wanting to give the Napier man the "tangi he deserves" and have left tributes and flowers at the Maraenui mural Mr Paterson created in 2002.
A total of $4966 was raised by the public via the website Give a Little, to help with the financial burden the family faced by returning Mr Paterson's body.
Cairns local David Leslie Hickson, 32, was charged with the murder and interference with a corpse. The crimes are alleged to have occurred on November 7.
Hickson was remanded in custody after appearing in Cairns Magistrates' Court last Thursday and will next appear again on December 17. All costs associated with the death of a New Zealand citizen overseas are the responsibility of the family.