THE body of murdered backpacker Caroline Stuttle is expected to arrive back in her home city of York today.

An inquest will be opened and adjourned in the city when the body is returned and then released to Caroline's family for the funeral.

The coroner will then wait for the Australian police to complete their inquiries before deciding what to do next.

Meanwhile, investigations into Caroline's murder were continuing in Australia today.

Police in Bundaberg were told a man seen shadowing Caroline moments before her murder may have been involved in an incident in a shopping mall the morning after her death. Witnesses said a man fitting the stalker's description flew into a rage after hitting his head on a caf parasol.

Caroline, 19, of Huntington Road, York, died after being robbed last Wednesday and then thrown from a bridge.