A slender man of medium height with short brown hair, Mr Woodroffe-Hill had his head bowed and remained expressionless throughout the hearing.

Described by homicide detectives as a resident of Tenterfield, police told the court he had been arrested at the Banksia unit about 10.30am (AEST) today after being questioned by detectives at Tamworth police station.

It is believed the arrest was carried out as a result of the work of Strike Force Penfold, a special task force set up within hours of the discovery of Mr Hutchinson's headless body.

Mr Woodroffe-Hill did not lodge a bail application.

Police applied to the court for forensic procedures to be carried out, asking permission to conduct a buccal swab and remove a hair sample to test his DNA.

Mr Woodroffe-Hill's Armidale lawyer David Clifton did not oppose the requests and permission was granted on condition they were completed at Tamworth police station by 9pm today.

The court was told Mr Woodroffe-Hill had not been a voluntary patient at Banksia.

It is understood that although he was not being held under section eight of the Mental Health Act, he had not been scheduled for release from the unit until May 31.

The matter was adjourned to Armidale Local Court for mention on May 23, but police said it may be up to six weeks before the results of the forensic tests were known.

Mr Clifton said outside the court that "this (the arrest) is tragic for him (Woodroffe-Hill), tragic for his family and for the wider family of the victim".

Mr Hutchinson was a former artillery gunner who served in Papua New Guinea and Borneo.

He had lived alone in his Markham Street home since 1985 and was known to his local community as a quiet but friendly man respected for his work with the local RSL and legacy war widows.

The crime initially baffled police, with robbery being ruled out early on as a possible motive.

Schilt will be sentenced on August 6th, and is expected to serve between 32 and 48 years.

Amy Schilt, Frank Schilt's oldest daughter, stated that the new plea was agreed on by all involved, and was intended to spare the family the drama of a trial.

"We support the fact that he is pleading guilty to second-degree murder" Amy told reporters, "because it would be better for everyone, so that we could kind of move on with our lives, and get over a lot of these things without it coming back in our faces."

Terri Schilt was reported missing in March 2006, and was believed to have been killed in late February of that year.

Superior Court Judge James Mulvihill immediately revoked the defendant's bail and ordered him held pending sentencing in New Brunswick on June 29.

Cibelli looked back at his father, Paul Cibelli Sr., before being led away in handcuffs.

Outside court, Silva's parents, Moises and Elvira Silva, said they were pleased with the verdict and thanked the jury, the judge and Middlesex County First Assistant Prosecutor William Lamb, who presented the case against the defendant.

At one point, the victim's mother broke into tears. ''We were sure all the time that he was the murderer,'' the victim's father said. ''In my heart, I knew this.''

During a three-week trial, Lamb said Cibelli was angry that Silva was planning to leave him and plotted her murder.

The defendant beat the woman with a roofer's staple gun and then strangled her, on a second-floor deck at the Robert Place house they shared with Cibelli's father in South Plainfield.
Cibelli subsequently wrapped the victim in trash bags and dumped her body somewhere in Pennsylvania, Lamb said.

Police began an investigation after the woman's remains were discovered at a recycling center in Philadelphia, Lamb said.

He credited Sgt. Ivan Scott of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office and Detective Gene Bataille and Sgt. James Foran, both South Plainfield police officers, with solving the crime.

Cibelli's attorney, Alan Zegas, said his client had no role in the slaying. Cibelli did not testify during the trial.

He faces 30 years to life in prison when he is sentenced at the Middlesex County Courthouse.

Marshall, 33, was found dead at his home by police responding to a call. Marshall had been stabbed more than 30 times.

A breakthrough in the case came in September 2006 when the FBI Laboratory's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) matched Jackson to DNA recovered on the linoleum floor of Marshall's residence. Jackson was in prison on an unrelated charge.

Assistant Grayson County District Attorney Mike Mitchell said Secret Service officials found a number of pictures of what appeared to be a young child in sexual activity with adults.

Brooks’ guilty plea means he will have to register as a sex offender for life. The nature of the crime means Brooks will have to serve half of whatever sentence he might get before being eligible for parole. 

Persing could get up to 20 years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines, defense lawyer Deb Newton said after the verdict. The case will be appealed, she said.

A crestfallen Persing declined comment as he left the courthouse. Among the release conditions imposed by Fox prior to sentencing is that Persing only fly on commercial and private aircraft traveling to and from court appearances.

“He’s devastated,” Newton said. “By defending his right to be left alone on an airplane and by defending his civil rights, he lost his job. I admire my client. If more citizens would have stood up for their civil rights, we wouldn’t have these problems.”

Persing, 41, is a mechanic at a port in California. Similar charges against fiancee Dawn E. Sewell, 40, were dismissed Tuesday by Fox.

The couple were on a Southwest Airlines flight on Sept. 15 that was bound for Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The flight originated in Los Angeles and stopped in Phoenix. While on the ground there, the couple were observed by flight attendants “embracing, kissing and acting in a manner that made other passengers uncomfortable,” according to a criminal complaint signed by an investigating FBI agent.

Trial testimony by crew members established that Persing put his head in Sewell’s lap, and refused the request of a male flight attendant to stop. Several passengers testified they heard Persing warn the attendant to “get out of my face” and he appeared to be intoxicated.

After being refused mixed drinks on the flight, Persing told the flight attendant there would be a “serious confrontation” between the two, according to the complaint. Crew members testified Persing was verbally abusive on other occasions during the flight.

The FBI met the couple when the aircraft landed in Raleigh.

Persing never got out of his seat during the flight and put his head in Sewell’s lap to rest because he didn’t feel well, Newton said in her summation. The flight attendant, she said, was the real aggressor because he didn’t like the pair showing affection of any sort, she said Thursday.