By Graham Huband and Graeme Strachan

A SCOT appeared before a magistrate in London yesterday charged with the murder of a young Brazilian man in the English capital.

Roderick George McDonald (51), from Edinburgh, was remanded in custody ahead of an appearance at the Old Bailey in May in connection with the murder of Brazilian Acioli Pariz-Junior.

The 29-year-old’s body was discovered in a suite at the Westminster House Hotel in Ebury Street, Belgravia at 12.20pm on Valentine’s Day.

Mr Pariz-Junior had last been seen around 2pm the previous day near to Victoria bus station, less than a mile from the hotel where he met his death.

A post-mortem examination showed that Mr Pariz-Junior had been beaten and stabbed prior to his death.

He moved to the UK in 2005 and had been living in a house in Camden, north-west London, with five other Brazilian men.

McDonald was arrested in Brighton on Monday by Metropolitan Police officers who had travelled to the coastal town. He was charged with the murder and taken to a local police office before being transferred to London the following day. At Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday McDonald spoke only to confirm his personal details during a two-minute procedural hearing.

He was remanded until his next appearance at the Old Bailey on May 31 where a pre-case hearing will take place.

Mr Pariz-Junior, from Jaguare, Espirito Santo, Brazil, was due to travel to Italy to obtain citizenship, before visiting his family in Brazil then returning to London.

His mother, Benildes, said, “He loved the UK. It was his second homeland. He thought he was always safe, that it was all wonderful.”

Before living in London, he worked in an amusement park in Blackpool.

After moving to the English capital, he worked in various places, including a health club. Before he died, he was taking care of an apartment in London carrying out domestic work.

“He went after new opportunities, he thought it would be easier to get a job over in the UK,” said his brother, Jalber Pariz (26), who lives with his mother in Brazil. “We talked all the time, but we didn’t know any details about his life in the UK. But he always said everything was going well.” He spoke to his relatives for the last time the day before he was found dead.