The man accused of killing Cheryl Grimmer allegedly tied the three-year-old's hands with a shoelace and suffocated her with his hand, a court has heard.
Grimmer has not been seen since she disappeared from a public toilet block at Fairy Meadow Beach, near Wollongong, on January 12, 1970.
The 63-year-old man, who cannot be named because he was a minor at the time of the alleged crime, appeared via video-link during a pre-committal hearing at Wollongong Local Court today.
Prosecutor Emilija Beljic told the court the accused confessed to the crime when interviewed a year after the death, but that police did not believe him at the time.
The court heard the man told police how he abducted Cheryl at beachside ablutions, took her to a nearby location, and tied her hands with a black shoelace.
It is alleged he then tried to sexually assault her, but she screamed and struggled, causing him to put his hand over her mouth, the court heard, before she stopped screaming and then stopped breathing.
The accused has yet to enter a plea and his case is yet to be presented to the court.
Cheryl's body has never been located.
