Mum of murdered Derbyshire backpacker on moment she came face-to-face with man accused of the killing

The mum of a Derbyshire backpacker murdered in Australia has spoken of the moment she came face-to-face with the man accused of the killing.
Mia Ayliffe-ChungMia Ayliffe-Chung
Mia Ayliffe-Chung

Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 21, from Wirksworth died after being stabbed at the Shelley's Backpackers hostel in Queensland in August 2016.

Tom Jackson, 30, from Congleton in Cheshire, was seriously injured as he tried to save Mia and died a few days after the attack.

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French national Smail Ayad was charged with the murder of Mia and Tom, as well as a number of other offences.

Rosie AyliffeRosie Ayliffe
Rosie Ayliffe

But earlier this month, the criminal charges against him were dropped and he was instead sent to a mental health facility.

Mia's mother Rosie Ayliffe travelled to Australia for the hearing. Speaking to an Australian magazine about the moment she saw the man accused of killing her daughter for the first time, she said: "I had seen images of Mia's killer in the press. To me, he looked like a very arrogant, testosterone-driven fighting man.

"He killed my daughter, he killed the man who was trying to help her, and he killed a dog. So you can imagine the animalistic creature I had created in my mind.

"But then I saw this figure in court who looked nothing like I imagined. He looked so old, he was shuffling, he was balding. His body language suggested defeat."