A member of the hostel’s staff named as Grant Scholz, 46, also received non-life threatening injuries and has since been released from hospital, while a dog at the hostel was also killed.
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Ayliffe-Chung was just 10 days into her backpacking adventure, after working three months as a nightclub waitress in the state of Queensland.
Mia Ayliffe Chung photos: Why was British backpacker murdered?
As well as the murder charge, Mr Ayad has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, one count of serious animal cruelty and 12 counts of serious assault, in relation to 12 police officers.
The Queensland Police Service tweeted on Friday morning local time: “The 30-year-old British man injured in the Home Hill attack remains in a critical condition in hospital”.
Deputy Commissioner Gollschewski said the alleged attacker appeared to have acted alone, is a visitor to Australia and has no known local connections.
The Guardian reported that Ayliffe-Chung, 21, was visiting Australia from Derbyshire in the United Kingdom and was reportedly days into a three-month working holiday.
He is due to appear in the Townsville Magistrates Court tomorrow.
Queensland police said that Ayad’s “demeanour remains unchanged” since his arrest.
It’s alleged he shouted out “Allahu Akbar” while attacking Ms Ayliffe-Chung but police have not found any evidence the incident was terror-related.
The 21-year-old, with moon boots on both feet, was still too upset to speak to media as his brother, Aaron, wheeled him through the Townsville airport for a flight back to Brisbane.
Police were treating the attack as a homicide, rather than terrorism-related.
“The associated issues of what motivated him and whether that has any relevance to radicalization is something we’re going to explore fully, but we won’t know for some time whether that’s the case”, Gollschewski said.
According to the herald, Australian Federal Police are investigating the possibility the attack came as a result of Smail Ayad developing an obsession with the 21 year old waitress/model.
He had reportedly become infatuated with Ayliffe-Chung and told fellow hostel guests that he planned to marry her, the Guardian reported.
Supt Rohweder said interviews with witnesses left investigators in no doubt that any romantic feelings Ayad had towards Ms Ayliffe-Chung were not reciprocated.
“There is no doubt that Mr Jackson’s attempts to render aid to Mia and his subsequent actions were absolutely fantastic”, Supt Rohweder said.
Ayliffe-Chung from Derbyshire was on a working holiday visa in Australia.
Police are now treating the attack as a murder case rather than a terror attack, although extremism is one of the possible motivations they are looking at, along with drug misuse and mental health issues.
Ayad had traveled to Australia twice in the past year.
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She paid tribute to her daughter, as “an wonderful young woman with an adventurous spirit”. “It’s sad knowing that she won’t be able to do those things”.
