An 'accident', says Norfolk Island murder accused

Sydney woman Janelle Patton was murdered by a Nelson man in 2002 after he accidentally hit her with his car, a court on Norfolk Island was told yesterday.

Prosecutor Graham Rhead told the Court of Petty Sessions that scalp hairs found in the boot of Glenn Peter Charles McNeill's Honda sedan matched identically Ms Patton's DNA profile.

Mr Rhead said McNeill was interviewed by Australian Federal Police when arrested last week in Nelson.

"During that interview ... the defendant made a number of admissions concerning his involvement in inflicting the injuries which resulted in the death of Ms Patton on Norfolk Island," he said.

"He indicated that he had accidentally struck Ms Patton in his car as he was driving down Rooty Hill Rd."

Mr Rhead said McNeill "did not implicate any other person as being involved in the incident or in the disposal of Ms Patton's body".

McNeill, a 28-year-old father of two, has not yet entered a plea to the murder charge that was laid yesterday by Norfolk police after he was extradited from New Zealand.

Australian Capital Territory Chief Magistrate Ron Cahill, acting as Chief Magistrate for Norfolk Island, heard the case on telephone link from Canberra.

Mr Cahill, in his capacity as the island's coroner, presided over the 2004 inquest into Ms Patton's death and found there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone with murder.

McNeill was arrested following what was described as a breakthrough in DNA evidence.

Mr Rhead told the court human hairs found in McNeill's boot and a sample of Ms Patton's blood were sent to the United States for advanced DNA testing.

"The mitochondrial DNA profile extracted from the blood was identical to the profile extracted from two of the human scalp hairs extracted from the boot of the Honda sedan," he said.

Mr Rhead told the court 29-year-old Ms Patton died as a result of multiple injuries, most significantly a puncture wound to a lung.

She suffered more than 60 separate injuries to her head, neck, torso, hands and legs, including cuts and fractures.

Fragments of glass found in the boot of McNeill's car and around the grass and open carport outside his flat were believed to be from the same source as fragments of glass recovered from Ms Patton's body and clothes, Mr Rhead said.

McNeill's fingerprints allegedly matched latent fingerprints found on a sheet of black plastic in which Ms Patton's body was partly wrapped.

A handwritten statement provided by McNeill following his arrest "further implicated him in the death of Ms Patton", Mr Rhead said.

McNeill made no application for bail and his lawyer, John Brown, did not object to the case being heard via telephone link from Sydney.

Mr Cahill remanded him in custody and adjourned the matter to February 24.

McNeill will be held at Sydney's Silverwater jail.

Outside court, Detective Sergeant Bob Peters said it was likely McNeill would be removed from the island as soon as possible.

- AAP