Murder accused lived close to Norfolk victim

The Nelson man arrested in connection with the Norfolk Island murder of Janelle Patton lived just one street away from her on the island.

Glenn Peter Charles McNeill, 28, will appear in the Nelson District Court on Tuesday for an extradition hearing after being remanded in custody last week. Ms Patton's murder, in 2002, was the first recorded on the island in 150 years.

McNeill was a chef on Norfolk Island at the time Ms Patton was found dead with 64 injuries, including a fractured skull, broken pelvis, and several stab wounds.

Her body was found at the Cockpit Waterfall Reserve on March 31 - Easter Sunday - in 2002.

The 29-year-old used to walk just metres from McNeill's street - Little Cutters Corn - each day on her walk down Rooty Hill Rd.

It was on Rooty Hill Rd that Ms Patton was last seen alive, and where police found a pair of broken sunglasses belonging to the Sydney woman who, like McNeill, was a temporary worker on Norfolk Island.

Ms Patton's mother, Carol, said she and husband Ron could not stop thinking about the horrific injuries their daughter suffered.

"There was not one part of her that hadn't been injured," she said. "But she fought back."

Neighbours on Little Cutters Corn said McNeill lived with his girlfriend in a small flat in a block of two.

"He kept to himself and seemed like he was always in a hurry. He used to go down the road pretty quick in his car," one neighbour said.

Friends of Ms Patton said there was huge relief on the island that there had been an arrest.

"For four years, even though we knew it wasn't an islander, there has been a lot of whispering and rumour on Norfolk," friend Greg Magri said.

Ms Patton's ex-boyfriend Laurie "Bucket" Quintal - himself a suspect at one point - said a huge cloud had lifted since the arrest.

"Everything around Janelle's murder was tough. She was a lovely girl and what her parents went through was absolute hell," he said.

Mr Quintal said he knew of McNeill, describing him as a baby-faced guy who liked working out at the gym.

Pauline Gardner at Cafe Pacifica, where the accused worked, said McNeill was a good chef who kept to himself.

Norfolk Islanders said they were now bracing themselves for the media attention if McNeill was extradited to the island on Tuesday.

"We know from last time what to expect. We are still expecting to go to court but it will be to tell people about Janelle, not to defend ourselves," Mr Magri said.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY