Richard Giardina left the country two days after Lisa Keem's body turned up, flying to Dubai and then to Italy, where he has relatives. Police met him at the airport when he arrived on a flight from London, The Sydney Telegraph reported.

Keem, who owned a pet salon in Hervey Bay, Queensland, was reported missing June 15, a day after she was last seen. A hiker found her body hundreds of miles away from her home the same day in Maria River State Forest in northern New South Wales.

Police interviewed Giardina about his wife's disappearance, before her body had been identified. At the time, he said he did not know where she was.

He was ordered held without bail pending a court appearance Monday. Authorities in Queensland were expected to seek his extradition.