THE mother of murdered York backpacker Caroline Stuttle spoke today of her fresh torment at the killer's decision to appeal.

Marjorie Marks-Stuttle, who lives at Pocklington, said Ian Previte's hearing next month in Brisbane, Australia, would "open up old wounds" for the family, and make it even harder to move on from the tragedy.

Previte, 32, a drug addict, was found guilty last year of robbing the 19-year-old and pushing her from a 30ft bridge in Bundaberg, Queensland, in April 2002. Three appeal court judges will hear the case on March 31 as he launches his fight against the conviction.

"It's very upsetting because it's opening up old wounds," Marjorie told the Evening Press.

"We thought that door was closed. My pain will never go away, but we thought we had got closure on this and that the right man had been put away."

Marjorie said it was "very unlikely" that any of the family would attend the hearing.

Caroline's brother, Richard, is currently travelling in Australia and plans to meet up with their father, Alan, in New Zealand, to paint sunsets.

Previte received a mandatory life jail term for Caroline's murder. This means that he will have to serve a minimum of 15 years before he can apply for parole.

Prosecutors said he confessed to cell mates while he was in jail on an unrelated charge, and later to police, that he pushed her off a bridge.

Meanwhile, Caroline's Rainbow Foundation - the charity set up by Marjorie to help backpackers planning to go abroad - is set to launch its own educational video.

The film, which gives young travellers safety tips before jetting off for adventures, is being made available to sixth-form colleges across the country.

"We are encouraging people to travel, but we are also making people aware of some of the dangers, Marjorie said.

The charity is also looking for a record company to distribute a heartfelt song inspired by Caroline's story, called You Never Say Goodbye.

Marjorie said the track, which was written by Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Griffiths, was "beautiful" and good enough to achieve chart success.

Updated: 11:11 Wednesday, February 09, 2005