Flatmate of knife death Brit tells of grief for ‘little sis’
THE flatmate of murdered backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung has revealed she hated the farm she was working on in Australia.
The Brit, 21, was stabbed to death at a hostel by fellow traveller Smail Ayad last Tuesday as he cried “Allahu Akbar”. The obsessed Frenchman, 29, had told pals they were madly in love and married.
Yesterday, Mia’s pal Jordyn Barakin, 19, said she last saw her two weeks ago.
Mia had left her Surfers Paradise flat on the Gold Coast and travelled 800 miles for a job on the farm in Queensland to extend her working holiday visa. Jordyn said: “She was sending me selfies with sad faces saying how much she hated the farm.”
Speaking about the flat, she added: “It’s so hard. There are a lot of memories when you walk in the door.”
Jordyn also spoke of how Mia longed to be a mum. She said: “She really wanted kids. I was always saying, ‘ Don’t do your farm work, marry an Aussie boy and have a baby and then you can stay’.”
And despite being younger, Jordyn said living together was like “living with a little sister”. She said: “She used to borrow all my clothes and make-up. It was fun. She was very funny, stunning and kind.”
Mia left her home in Cromford, Derbys, last summer after finishing a childcare course at collage. She arrived in Australia earlier this year and settled in Surfers Paradise, working as a waitress at a club and hoping to stay in the area long-term.
After arriving at Shelley’s Backpackers in Home Hill she met Ayad, who had a fixation with model and TV star Arianny Celeste – who Mia resembled.
Ayad, who smoked cannabis before his attack, was pictured wearing a muzzle as he was moved to Queensland’s high-security Townesville Correctional Centre.
British charity worker Tom Jackson, 30, remains on life support after being stabbed in the head as he fought to defend Mia.