The suspect in the murder of a British backpacker in Australia is 29-year-old Frenchman Smail Ayad.

He was arrested on Tuesday night after an attack in the Shelley's Backpackers hostel in the Home Hill area of Queensland which left Mia Ayliffe-Chung, 21, dead, and fellow Briton Tom Jackson, 30, critically injured.

Having visited once before, Ayad had arrived in Australia in March and was in the country legally on a temporary visa.

Reports of his Facebook profile suggest he was originally from Marseille in southern France - where he attended High School at Lycee de la Mediterranee in La Ciotat - but had travelled to Thailand and Spain.

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He had most recently listed Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he appeared to have taken kickboxing training, as his city of residence.

His profile picture was reported to be a painting featuring the words "peace", "unity" and "respect" and pictures also show him relaxing on sunloungers and beaches and surrounded by young women.

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Police said they understood Ayad had been in Home Hill for about a month while Miss Ayliffe-Chung had been there only a couple of days.

Officers also said the possibility that Ayad had an unrequited romantic interest or an "obsession" with Miss Ayliffe-Chung was a line of inquiry.

The Daily Mail reported that police had examined social media accounts on which he had bookmarked hundreds of pictures of Arianny Celeste - a model who bears a strong resemblance to Miss Ayliffe-Chung.