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Australia 'collar-bomb' suspect detained in US Australia 'collar-bomb' suspect detained in US
(about 2 hours later)
An Australian man is being held in the US state of Kentucky over an attack on a Sydney teenager who had a fake bomb strapped to her neck. An Australian man is being held in the US state of Kentucky on charges he locked a fake bomb around the neck of a Sydney teenager in an extortion bid.
A court ordered Paul "Douglas" Peters, 50, be detained until an extradition hearing scheduled for October. Paul Douglas Peters, 50, was detained pending extradition as startling details emerged about 18-year-old Madeleine Pulver's ordeal on 3 August.
Madeleine Pulver, 18, was attacked at her home in Sydney earlier this month. It took 10 hours to remove the device. Australian and US investigators traced him through an email account he hoped to use in ransom demands, police said.
Mr Peters was arrested on Monday at his ex-wife's house near La Grange, north-east of Louisville. A lawyer for Mr Peters said his client would fight the charges against him.
Investigators traced Mr Peters through an email address, reported to have been accessed at times that linked it to the fake bomb incident. He was arrested on Monday at his ex-wife's house near Louisville, Kentucky, following a short but intensive investigation covering two continents.
A chain of evidence based on forensic computer evidence, transnational banking records, immigration records, among other things, traced his movement from the New South Wales state of Australia to the US, prosecutors said.
His lawyers said he would contest the charges against hi,
'Extremely frightened'
In federal court in Louisville on Tuesday, US Magistrate Judge Dave Whalin ordered that Mr Peters be held in custody until his extradition hearing on 14 October.In federal court in Louisville on Tuesday, US Magistrate Judge Dave Whalin ordered that Mr Peters be held in custody until his extradition hearing on 14 October.
'Range of evidence' Ms Pulver was studying in her bedroom at her home in Mosman, near Sydney, on 3 August when a man wearing a balaclava and carrying a black box and a black baseball bat walked in about 14:30 local time, according to the criminal complaint href="https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_sKcA6KrgoAZmM0OTg4NDMtZmIzZi00Y2MzLThiNzAtZGE3OTRiNGY5NmY2&hl=en_US" >filed in the US court and obtained by the BBC.
Australian state police said they had contacted the FBI after an investigation led them to identify an individual who left the country on 8 August on a flight to the US. Ms Pulver tried to flee but the man threatened her, then placed the box around her neck and locked it with a device similar to a bicycle chain.
"There was a range of pieces of evidence that led us to identify this suspect," Luke Moore, from the New South Wales Police, told a news conference at the FBI offices in Louisville. Also locked onto the chain was a USB flash drive and a plastic document sleeve, the court document states.
Police in Australia had previously promised to "tie down every lead" in what they said appeared to have been an extortion attempt. The man then left, telling Ms Pulver: "Count to 200... I'll be back... if you move I can see you, I'll be right here," she told authorities.
Ms Pulver was alone when an intruder broke into the house and chained a device to her that looked like a bomb. Ms Pulver was "extremely frightened" and thought the man was robbing her house, the court filing states. She eventually looked in the document sleeve and found a note saying the box contained explosives and warning her not to call police.
A note was attached to the collar bomb threatening to detonate the device, but it made no financial demand. Suspect described
Bomb experts took 10 hours to remove the device from her neck and later described it as a very elaborate fake. The note instructed her to acknowledge receiving it by sending an email to a specified Gmail account, upon which she would be given ransom instructions.
Ms Pulver was eventually freed and taken to hospital. She telephoned her parents, and police arrived soon afterwards.
Over the next 10 hours, Ms Pulver remained in her room as police bomb technicians examined and x-rayed the box locked to her neck. They eventually determined it contained no explosives, then removed it. Ms Pulver was taken to hospital.
Ms Pulver described the man to police as being in his 60s, of medium build, with a "slightly protruding stomach" and weathered skin, the court document states.
Investigators began by discovering the Gmail account listed in the note was established from a computer at an airport in Chicago on 30 May.
Baseball bat purchase
Police in New South Wales, Australia then interviewed witnesses at the locations at which the Gmail account was subsequently accessed.
A review of CCTV footage and motor vehicle records led them to suspect Mr Peters of involvement.
Immigration records showed Mr Peters had flown through Chicago on 30 May, putting him at the airport when the Gmail account was created from a computer there, the court filing said.
Investigators also discovered Mr Peters had purchased a black baseball bat a few weeks before the encounter with Ms Pulver, it said.
Using bank records and other evidence, they traced Mr Peters to the Kentucky residence of his ex-wife, where he was arrested.