Accused in backpacker deaths back in jail

Accused backpacker killer Smail Ayad has been moved back to a Townsville prison before his next court appearance this month.

It's understood that Ayad, a French national, had been moved to a mental health facility in Brisbane in September after making constant death threats to guards in Townsville.

A Queensland Corrective Services spokeswoman told AAP on Tuesday that Ayad is in Townsville Correctional Centre.

Ayad, 29, has been charged with murdering British woman Mia Ayliffe-Chung, and police say they will upgrade the charge for the attack on fellow national Tom Jackson to murder at his committal hearing in Townsville Magistrates Court on October 28.