British tourist killed in Australia knife terror
A FRENCHMAN who allegedly stabbed to death a young British backpacker in an Australian hostel may have been infatuated with her.
Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 21, was killed in her bed at the hostel in Townsville, Queensland, where she had been working on a farm to extend her visa.
A British man was seriously injured in the alleged attack by Smail Ayad, 29, who is reported to have shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great” in Arabic) before the attack and again as he was arrested.
It was reported last night that Ayad, who had been in Australia since March, had developed a “romantic obsession” with Ms Ayliffe-Chung.
Fellow Briton Tom Jackson, 30, was in a critical condition last night with more than 20 stab wounds sustained in a heroic bid to save Mia.
Anthem
Another British man, Chris Porter, 21, was forced to leap from a secondstorey window to escape the alleged attacker. An Australian, Grant Scholz, 46, believed to be a worker at the hostel, was also slightly injured and his dog was killed in front of 30 residents in a shared dormitory late on Tuesday night.
Ms Ayliffe-Chung, from Wirksworth in Derbyshire, and her compatriots had been staying at Shelley’s Backpackers’ Hostel.
Australian media said last night that Ayad sang the French national anthem then shouted “Allahu Akbar” before the alleged attack.
Mr Porter was sleeping in the bunk bed above Ms Ayliffe-Chung.
His brother Aaron, who was at his bedside in a Queensland hospital last night, said: “I think Chris has broken both his ankles.
“He had to jump out of the window. The guy chased him down the road with a knife. He had to wave down a car and the guy was trying to smash the car window.
“Chris said he had been there for a few days and seemed absolutely normal.
“He spoke to the guy before he went to bed and he seemed fine. He was woken up by him dragging Mia out of bed. The guy was a nutter.”
Ms Ayliffe-Chung, a former nursery worker, had told her mother in a Facebook message only a few days ago: “Travelling isn’t as scary as I thought.”
Rosie Ayliffe had answered: “You’ll be back in the blink of an eye.”
She paid an emotional tribute to her “beloved daughter” last night saying she was a “rare person who saw beyond race, creed and belief”.
In a statement, Rosie said: “My beloved daughter Mia was an amazing young woman with an adventurous spirit.
“Not only was she kind and funny, she was clever, sassy with a sense of fun.”
Queensland deputy police commissioner Steve Gollschewski said police were trying to determine whether the attacker has any link to terror organisations or drug or mental health problems.
He added: “This person appears to have acted alone.”