Accused son says he didn’t kill mum

THE man accused of killing his mother, Dorothy Britton, at Airlie Beach more than two decades ago was estranged from his family for 17 years before being charged with her murder.

Mrs Britton, 48, was shot in her home on Timberlands Rd at Jubilee Pocket, near Airlie Beach, on March 6, 1996.

One of her three children, son Christopher Mark Britton, 51, from South Australia, was arrested in Port Neill on Thursday and charged with murder.

He appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday and was remanded in custody.

Outside court, his lawyer, Adam Magill, said Britton’s arrest had come “out of the blue” for his client, who had been estranged from his family for the past 17 years.

Mr Magill said Britton “strenuously denies the charges”.

Britton, who was aged 29 at the time his mother was killed, had been unemployed but doing “odd jobs” in South Australia prior to his arrest, Mr Magill said.

“He’s fairly distressed,” he said.

Britton had not previously made any public appeals to find his mother’s killer, Mr Magill said.

Homicide detective Senior Sergeant Chris Knight on Thursday said police continued to appeal for information relating to the murder.

A government reward of $ 250,000 remains on offer for information that leads to the apprehension and conviction of the person or persons responsible.

The reward further offers an opportunity for indemnity against prosecution for any accomplice, not being the person who actually committed the murder, who first gives such information.

Britton will return to court on July 16.