An Italian backpacker has described how she nearly hitched a ride with alleged killer Pande Veleski just hours before he allegedly stabbed a tourist to death at an isolated road stop in the Northern Territory.
Mr Veleski was charged with murder on Saturday night over the fatal stabbing of a French tourist in the neck, in an attack described by police as "bizarre, obscure and could not have been predicted on any scale".
Marilina Greco told Sky News that she and a friend were hitch-hiking from the Erldunda Roadhouse on the Stuart Highway south of Alice Springs when an agitated Mr Veleski offered them a lift.
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"He said to us that he could, but only after the sun went down, so at that point my intuition said that it was getting really weird," Ms Greco told
"He said that he was going with his friends to Alice Springs fishing and after ... he said that his friends, he didn't know where his friend was. so he was asking me for a good place to fish in Alice Springs."
Ms Greco said that when she decided not to take the ride she felt sorry for Mr Veleski.
"I felt a bit sorry for him. I thought this guy looks so awkward that he probably doesn't even have friends."
It was only hours later that Mr Veleski allegedly stabbed Philippe Jegouzo, 33, in the neck in a random attack on Wednesday at the Connors Well rest stop about 100 kilometres north of Alice Springs
Mr Jegouzo's wife, Aurelie Chorier, 30, flagged down a passing car that was driven by a nurse from a nearby health clinic and her husband. The nurse tried to save the Frenchman's life, While her husband drove 30 kilometres to the nearest telephone to call for help. Mr Jegouzo died at the scene.
It is understood that he and his wife had only been in Australia for a week.
Mr Veleski, a Melbourne man, allegedly fled the scene in a grey Hyundai i20 hatchback and a spent a night hiding from police in the bush before he was arrested the following morning.
He was charged with murder on Saturday and remains under police guard in Alice Springs hospital where he has received treatment for heat exhaustion and dehydration.
Mr Veleski is due to face Alice Springs Local Court on Monday.
Detective Superintendent Travis Wurst said police were tying to piece together the sequence of events leading up to the attack.
Police were hoping to speak to a man who left the rest stop about 10 minutes before the stabbing.
They also have urged motorists who may have dash-cam footage of the vehicles involved or the area around Connors Well to come forward.
"We would like to trace the last movements of the victim, and also track the movements of the alleged offender to try and piece together a timeline of events," Detective Superintendent Wurst said.
"We would also encourage anyone who may have seen any activity at the Connors Well roadside stop at any stage during Wednesday 30 November, not just in the late afternoon, to contact police."
Ms Greco said she was shocked when she heard that Mr Veleski had been charged with murder, but had not been deterred from visiting the Northern Territory.
"We can't live in fear," she said.
"It's one person out of a thousand people. It's not a reason for not trusting anybody."
