Stabbing victim had ‘fallen in love with Australia, its people’
Slain British backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung hated having to leave the Gold Coast to work on farms in Queensland’s rural north, according to her former Australian boyfriend Jamison Stead.
‘‘She didn’t initially want to go but we told her it would be an adventure and experience, so she saw the bright side in the opportunity,’’ he said.
She changed her mind because she wanted to extend her one-year visa in Australia, he said.
She often spoke about her dream to remain in Australia longterm and explore the country.
‘‘She had fallen in love with the country and its people. She wanted to get a sponsorship in the Gold Coast or Melbourne. And live in Australia after she returned from her farm work,’’ Stead said.
‘‘It’s sad knowing that she won’t be able to do those things.’’
Investigations continue into the shocking attack that took the life of 21-year-old Ayliffe-Chung and left fellow Brit Thomas Jackson fighting for his life in Townsville Hospital.
Ayliffe-Chung and Stead were together for three months from the end of April, after meeting in Surfers Paradise where Mia worked as a waitress
‘‘Mia was a beautiful soul who was always looking out for people. Mia was a girl who lived life as spontaneously as possible.
‘‘She had a passion for life and it was contagious if you knew her,’’ he said.
The owner of the north Queensland hostel where the young woman was brutally stabbed to death says her alleged killer did not show signs of religious extremism. The suspect, Frenchman Smail Ayad, had spent time at the hostel a year ago, according to John Norris who ran Home Hill Backpackers, also known as Shelley’s Backpackers, for 15 years. ‘‘It just wasn’t him . . . A lot of the news is trying to put him as an Islamic extremist. As far as I’m concerned he was never like that,’’ Norris said.
But Norris does believe the 29-year-old changed when Mia Ayliffe-Chung arrived at the hostels, saying he became entranced and followed her around.
Police allege Ayad cried out ‘‘Allahu Akbar’’ or ‘‘God is great’’ when the 21-year-old was stabbed.
They are also investigating the possibility drugs or mental illness were involved.