A 14-year-old boy has appeared court today in New Zealand in connection with the murder of a Scottish backpacker.

Karen Aim, 26, from Orkney, was killed as she made her way home from a night out in the resort town of Taupo on January 17.

The 14-year-old - who was arrested earlier in the inquiry on other charges - has now been charged with her murder. He appeared in court in Rotorua on the North Island earlier today. He has also been charged with a separate incident of aggravated robbery and intentional damage at a local high school.

A court spokeswoman said the youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was remanded in custody until the next hearing on April 15.

Speaking from the family home in Orkney this morning, Brian Aim, 51, said the family were “very glad” at the latest development.

“It is a comfort to know somebody has been charged, but of course they are innocent until proven guilty," he said.

“While it is a great comfort, that is overruled by the fact that it will not take Karen back.”

Miss Aim was on her second visit to New Zealand after a three-month stay in 2006. She had been paying her way by working in a glass-blowing gallery.

She was found lying in the street with serious head injuries after walking home from a night out with friends. She had visited a number of bars in Taupo and CCTV footage showed her at a service station at 2am - half an hour before she was discovered. She died later in hospital.

Police described the killing as being a “massive whodunnit”. A team of 50 staff were drafted in to work on the probe, named Operation Waikato, which initially focused on a group who vandalised a school near where Miss Aim was found.

Six windows were smashed at the Taupo Nui-A-Tia College at around the time she was assaulted.

The 14-year-old was arrested early into the murder hunt, although detectives said at the time that the arrest was not directly connected to the attack on Miss Aim.

The boy was charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and aggravated robbery following an incident on January 5, 12 days before the attack on Miss Aim.

The case moved on at the end of February when officers located a bike which it was thought may be connected to the night of Miss Aim's killing.

After the killing friends left tributes on the social networking website Bebo, which Miss Aim had been updating with stories and pictures of her travels.

Around 300 people gathered in Holm, Orkney, for her funeral on January 29. Her father said following her death: “She put a ray of sunshine into every room she came into.”

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