A man who escaped from a New Zealand prison nearly 12 years ago has been arrested by British police in connection with the murder of his homosexual lover.
Ricardo Pisano, who was once dubbed the "Artful Dodger", walked out of Rangipo Prison near Turangi in August 2001 while serving a 15-month sentence for extortion. He was never recaptured.
But an international manhunt was launched for Pisano after the body of 63-year-old Michael Polding was found with multiple injuries in his Sussex flat last July.
Concerned family members in Scotland contacted police when Mr Polding failed to get in touch.
His badly decomposed body is thought to have lain there for nearly two months.
Mr Polding was gay and romantically linked with Pisano, despite the concerns of the older man's family.
Following the discovery of his remains, police launched their worldwide search for Pisano. He was arrested in Southampton last night.
In a statement, Sussex police said: "There had been an international search for Mr Pisano - also known as Ricky, Ree, and Brandon Victor Pillay, who has links to South Africa and New Zealand - after he was believed to have been the last person to see Michael Polding alive.
"He remains in custody at Brighton and is being interviewed by members of the Surrey and Sussex major crime team."
In April, Coroner Victoria Hamilton-Deeley returned a verdict of unlawful killing at an inquest into Mr Polding's death.
His body was too decomposed to be sure of the exact cause of death but he died with a number of injuries, including broken ribs and a fractured collar bone, the inquest heard.
Last December, detectives set up a website to trace Pisano and offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
- Jared Savage of the New Zealand Herald
