Man Found Guilty of Fatal Hostel Fire

An itinerant Australian fruit picker was today convicted of murder and arson for starting a fire that tore through a backpackers' hostel in Childers, Australia in June 2000, killing 15 people.

A Brisbane supreme court jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after nearly two days of deliberations and 19 days of testimony in the trial.

Long pleaded not guilty to charges of arson and two counts of murder for the deaths of 27-year-old Australian twins Kelly and Stacey Slarke. He did not face charges overthe other 13 who died in the fire because a conviction on the murder of the two Australians would see him jailed for life.

Fifteen young backpackers died in the blaze at the century-old Palace backpackers hostel in Childers, 185 miles north of Brisbane, on June 23 2000.

Among the victims were six Britons, four Australians, one Irish national, two Dutch backpackers, a South Korean traveller and a Japanese traveller.

Set in a fertile farming region, the Victorian-era township of Childers is a popular destination on the backpacker circuit in Australia because of the ready availability of fruit picking work.

The presiding judge, Justice Peter Dutney, told jury members yesterday they should ignore intense media coverage of the case. "I don't doubt you all feel the pressure of the media spotlight on this case and doing your duty will require courage," he said.

The six-week trial heard evidence from 169 witnesses, including police, and backpackers from Britain, India, New Zealand and Denmark.