'Prim and proper' suspect held in US over collar-bomb ransom plot

Acqaintances of Paul "Doug" Peters said that while he was a "volatile" character at times, he was someone who was "prim and proper" and "more English than the English".

The remarks come as fresh details emerged in court of the tense moments when a teenager had what she believed to be a live bomb locked around her neck, with her assailant asking her to "count to 200".

Peters, 50, was arrested late on Monday in the US in connection with an elaborate extortion plot in which he is alleged to have chained the bomb-like device around Madeleine Pulver's neck.

During a brief courtroom appearance yesterday, Peters was ordered by judge Dave Whalin to be held in custody pending an extradition hearing set for 14 October.

The businessman, shackled at the ankles and wrists, showed no emotion in the Kentucky court. He spoke quietly to his lawyer, Scott Cox, only glancing briefly at his ex-wife, Debra Peters, who sat weeping in the front row.

The appearance came nearly a fortnight after Ms Pulver was attacked in her home in the Sydney suburb of Mosman by a man wearing a balaclava, after which police spent about ten hours trying to free the 18-year-old from what was suspected to be a live bomb.

The teenager's ordeal on 3 August saw bomb technicians, negotiators and detectives rush to the scene, but it later emerged that the device did not contain explosives.

Australian prime minister Julia Gillard said the event resembled "a Hollywood script".

In court documents released yesterday, an arrest complaint against Peters gave vivid details of the alleged incident, saying the intruder forced a black box against Ms Pulver's throat and attached it around her neck.

The man, brandishing a baseball bat, is then said to have walked away, prompting the high school student - the daughter of internet executive William Pulver - to ask where he was going. He is alleged to have replied: "Count to 200. I'll be back. If you move I can see you - I'll be right here."

The 11-page complaint claims Peters once worked for a company with links to the victim's family, although it does not elaborate on the statement.

Peters was arrested at gunpoint by FBI agents and police from New South Wales at his ex-wife's house in the quiet Kentucky town of La Grange, near Louisville.

Speculation has grown around the background and personality of the privately educated Australian national, who divided his time between Sydney and the US. A former managing director of the failed Allco Finance Group, he was a pupil at the exclusive Scots College east of Sydney.

Peters was a "good athlete and very studious", one former schoolmate revealed, although another recalled his "rambunctious, aggressive character".

Peters read law and economics at the University of Sydney, before working in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Australia with Allco.

One friend in Sydney said Peters was "prim and proper, very honest", explaining: "He liked the finer things in life: French wine, Champagne, horse riding - more English than the English.

"Sure, he was volatile, but he was a decent, smart guy - we would tolerate his hissy-fits."

The friend said Peters had been married twice, and has three teenage daughters by his first wife.

Detective Superintdent Luke Moore of New South Wales Police confirmed extortion demands were made in a letter attached to Ms Pulver, and Peters would eventually face charges in Australia of kidnapping, breaking and entering, committing a serious offence and demanding property with menaces.