A MAN accused of murdering a Bolton teenager appeared in an Australian court.

James Robert Duggan, aged 19, of Quinns Rock, near Perth, Western Australia, was charged with the wilful murder of Rebecca Ryle, also aged 19. The teenager's semi-naked body was found in a school playground yards from her new home in Mindarie on May 6. She had been strangled.

The former Turton High School pupil, of Hardy Mill Road, Harwood, moved to Australia with her family six months earlier.

Duggan was remanded in custody by Joondalup Magistrates Court and no plea was entered. He will appear at the court again on September 1.