A MAN wanted for questioning over a butal double murder in York could be back in the city in less than a fortnight.

The Evening Press has learned that the 42-year-old former council tenant John Paul Marshall has dumped his legal team and will not fight the decision of three Dutch judges to extradite him from the Netherlands.

A judge at the Dutch Supreme Court, at The Hague, is expected to rule that he can be extradited immediately, when his case is heard again on May 11.

York detectives will want to speak to Mr Marshall as soon as possible about the deaths of Kevin Mulgrew, 38, and Daniel Wall, 27.

Their bludgeoned and badly-decomposed bodies were found by police at his one-bedroomed bedsit above a Gillygate bakery, following complaints of leaking fluids and a terrible smell.

A spokeswoman for the Dutch Supreme Court said it was "almost certain" that his final appearance before the Dutch judiciary would take place on May 11.

She said: "It appears that he has not asked a lawyer to state his defence, and if that remains the case his appeal will be rejected and the decision of the district court will become final."

Mr Marshall, who is unemployed, has been held in Dutch custody since he was arrested in Amsterdam on December 23.

He was last seen on December 2 at the door of his city centre home by a council plumber, who was investigating what was thought to be rusty radiator fluid leaking in to the bakery below.

When police called again two days later, after receiving reports of a bad smell, they forced entry and discovered the two men's bodies on the floor.

Police initially struggled to identify the bodies. A forensic pathologist found they had suffered severe head injuries, inflicted with a heavy blunt weapon.

Mr Marshall's red Ford Fiesta was found about a week later "apparently abandoned" in the Meanwood area of Leeds as officers stepped up the murder hunt.

North Yorkshire Police have said they are waiting to interview Mr Marshall about the deaths and have stepped down the murder inquiry, which at one stage involved more than 40 officers.

Ovengloves bakery closed on the day of the discovery and about a month later owners Sharron and Nick Richardson, who also have premises at Clifton Moor, gave up their lease to the council without reopening.

Updated: 10:40 Friday, April 30, 2004