Bounty offered for arrest of Aussie killer

SYDNEY, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- For the first time in more than 100 years police in the Australian state of New South Wales are offering a reward for information about a murder case.

A police spokesman said in a statement that $40,000 was being offered for the arrest of Malcolm Naden, accused of strangling a woman in the town of Dubbo in 2005.

The spokesman said Naden has proved elusive, despite various sightings, due to his bush skills and because "probably he is getting help."

Rewards are generally only offered if information leads to a conviction and the last time NSW put a bounty on a killer was in 1878 for Australia's most famous outlaw, Ned Kelly.