A man extradited to face court over the alleged murder his partner almost 30 years ago will remain in custody after the case was heard for the first time.

Keith Lees, 72, was flown from NSW to Queensland on Thursday in the company of detectives after being arrested in a rural area north of Sydney on January 2 and accused of the murder of Meaghan Louise Rose, 25, on the Sunshine Coast in 1997.

Lees was not required to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday during a brief mention of his murder charge.

Defence solicitor Zane Playle applied for the case to be transferred to Maroochydore Magistrates Court within four to six weeks.

Police prosecutor Harry Coburn told Magistrate Lewis Shillito that four weeks “was more than sufficient” and it could be done within two.

Shillito noted Lees had applied for legal aid but not bail.

The magistrate ordered the case be next heard on January 24 at Maroochydore Magistrates Court and remanded Lees in custody.

Defendants charged with murder in Queensland can apply for bail only in the Supreme Court.

The Queensland homicide cold case investigation team obtained an arrest warrant for Lees in July 2023 after he allegedly disappeared following an interview with detectives in Victoria.

Meaghan Louise Rose’s death was initially ruled a suicide. Photo: AAP

Rose’s body was discovered on July 18, 1997, at the base of Point Cartwright Cliffs at Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

The disability and aged care nursing assistant had previously moved from Victoria to Queensland with Lees, who was more than 20 years older than her.

The death was initially ruled a suicide, but investigators reopened the case in 2009. A $500,000 reward for information was announced in June 2023.

In charges dropped by prosecutors on Thursday, NSW Police alleged Lees spent roughly 18 months evading an arrest warrant by using a fake identity.

Queensland detectives travelled to Victoria in June 2023 and spoke to Lees, before his car was found abandoned at Portland on the state’s south-west coast the following day.

Lees was later spotted in Geelong and Shepparton in Victoria before being arrested in Dural in NSW.

Queensland Police have confirmed the $500,000 reward remains on offer for information leading to a conviction for Rose’s murder.

“In addition to the reward, an appropriate indemnity from prosecution will be recommended for any accomplice, not being the person who actually committed the crime, who first gives such information,” they said on Thursday.

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-AAP