Body in esky trial set down in Qld

A man accused of killing a New Zealand national and stuffing his body in an esky will face a trial next year.

David Leslie Hickson, 33, was charged with murder and interfering with a corpse after Campbell Paterson's body was found in bushland South of Cairns in November last year.

In the Cairns Magistrates Court on Monday he was ordered to stand trial, with a five-day trial set down to begin on March 14 next year.