Norfolk Island murder trial date set

New Zealander Glenn McNeill will stand trial in February, accused of murdering Sydney woman Janelle Patton on Norfolk Island.

McNeill, 28, has elected to have a jury hear the trial, which is scheduled to begin on the island on February 1.

Proceedings are expected to run for four weeks before Chief Justice Mark Weinberg of the Norfolk Island Supreme Court.

The battered body of Ms Patton, 29, was found at a picnic spot on March 31, 2002.

McNeill, who had worked as a chef on the island in 2002, was arrested at his New Zealand home in February.

The father of two is in custody in Sydney's Silverwater Jail.