Accused murderer 'too dangerous' to appear in court over Cairns stabbing

The man accused of murdering a Queensland father-of-five in a random attack was today deemed too dangerous to sit in the dock for a court hearing.

A pensioner and stroke survivor, Michael Eaton was on Wednesday stabbed to death inside popular Cairns Central shopping centre.

Police allege 38-year-old Nick Boak, a former army reservist, slashed Mr Eaton across the throat from behind after the pair exchanged just a few words.

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"The level of violence is quite incredible," Detective Inspector Kevin Goan said of the alleged incident.

Mr Boak was charged earlier this morning with one count of murder.

He requested to be present in the dock while his matter was briefly mentioned in Cairns Magistrates Court today but was instead kept in the watch house, as the prosecution deemed the level of danger to court staff was too high.

Mr Eaton was a "well known and well liked" regular at the Cairns Central shopping centre, leaving the community at a loss to make sense of the tragedy.