Backpacker killer was always going to hold his secrets
But the cruel outcome is no surprise to some of those involved in the horrifying case, including one who predicted almost 10 years ago that the "arrogant" murderer would take the secret to his grave.
Bradley John Murdoch, 67, succumbed to throat cancer on Tuesday after being moved from jail in June to a hospital in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
He died under the supervision of correctional officers.
Murdoch was given a life sentence for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio, 28, and the assault and attempted kidnapping of his girlfriend Joanne Lees, now 51, on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in July 2001.
Mr Falconio was driving along the Stuart Highway with Ms Lees when Murdoch drove up behind them and indicated they should pull over, saying their van might have an engine problem.
Mr Falconio went behind the car with him to investigate, and Ms Lees heard a gunshot. Murdoch grabbed her, cable-tied her and covered her head.
But she managed to escape and hid in bushland for five hours while Murdoch hunted her with his dog, before she flagged down a truck driver.
Murdoch is believed to have hidden Mr Falconio's body, which has never been found despite extensive searches.
He was arrested in November 2003 over Falconio's disappearance, after a jury in South Australia acquitted him of raping and falsely imprisoning a 12-year-old girl.
The SA case allowed NT Police to obtain his DNA, which was later found on the make-shift handcuffs worn by Ms Lees, as well as on her T-shirt, leading to his arrest.
But even with a life sentence, and the NT passing "no body, no parole" laws in 2016, that would see Murdoch spend the rest of his days behind bars, he never revealed the site of the remains.
Fifteen years after the backpacker's disappearance, in 2016, the detectives who worked on the case said they believed Murdoch would remain tight-lipped about Mr Falconio's final resting place.
"He'll always maintain his innocence; he'll take that to his grave, I'd be very surprised if he didn't," Colleen Gwynne, who led the four-person team that put Murdoch behind bars, said in 2016.
"He's an extremely arrogant man, so he still feels like the system's done him wrong."
That prediction proved to be correct.
However, authorities still hope that someone else might know where Mr Falconio's body is.
In June, NT Police announced a $500,000 reward to encourage people to come forward.
"It is disappointing for the Falconio family that this case remains unresolved and they are still without the closure they deserve," NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said in a statement on Wednesday after Murdoch's death.
But others have raised doubts about Murdoch's guilt, despite a unanimous jury decision at his trial in 2005.
Author Robin Bowles, who wrote "Dead Centre" after spending 60 hours interviewing Murdoch in prison, described the killer as a "gentle giant" and "very courteous".
She claimed that during the interviews, Murdoch disclosed things that "didn't add up" and came to the conclusion that he was innocent.
"I never had a lie from him," Ms Bowles told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
Murdoch appealed against his conviction in 2013, claiming the prosecution improperly influenced Ms Lees during the trial.
But his legal team later withdrew the appeal.
Murdoch was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019.
Hopes that a notorious backpacker killer would reveal where he put the remains of a man he killed in the Australian outback have been dashed.
But the cruel outcome is no surprise to some of those involved in the horrifying case, including one who predicted almost 10 years ago that the "arrogant" murderer would take the secret to his grave.
Bradley John Murdoch, 67, succumbed to throat cancer on Tuesday after being moved from jail in June to a hospital in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
He died under the supervision of correctional officers.
Murdoch was given a life sentence for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio, 28, and the assault and attempted kidnapping of his girlfriend Joanne Lees, now 51, on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in July 2001.
Mr Falconio was driving along the Stuart Highway with Ms Lees when Murdoch drove up behind them and indicated they should pull over, saying their van might have an engine problem.
Mr Falconio went behind the car with him to investigate, and Ms Lees heard a gunshot. Murdoch grabbed her, cable-tied her and covered her head.
But she managed to escape and hid in bushland for five hours while Murdoch hunted her with his dog, before she flagged down a truck driver.
Murdoch is believed to have hidden Mr Falconio's body, which has never been found despite extensive searches.
He was arrested in November 2003 over Falconio's disappearance, after a jury in South Australia acquitted him of raping and falsely imprisoning a 12-year-old girl.
The SA case allowed NT Police to obtain his DNA, which was later found on the make-shift handcuffs worn by Ms Lees, as well as on her T-shirt, leading to his arrest.
But even with a life sentence, and the NT passing "no body, no parole" laws in 2016, that would see Murdoch spend the rest of his days behind bars, he never revealed the site of the remains.
Fifteen years after the backpacker's disappearance, in 2016, the detectives who worked on the case said they believed Murdoch would remain tight-lipped about Mr Falconio's final resting place.
"He'll always maintain his innocence; he'll take that to his grave, I'd be very surprised if he didn't," Colleen Gwynne, who led the four-person team that put Murdoch behind bars, said in 2016.
"He's an extremely arrogant man, so he still feels like the system's done him wrong."
That prediction proved to be correct.
However, authorities still hope that someone else might know where Mr Falconio's body is.
In June, NT Police announced a $500,000 reward to encourage people to come forward.
"It is disappointing for the Falconio family that this case remains unresolved and they are still without the closure they deserve," NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said in a statement on Wednesday after Murdoch's death.
But others have raised doubts about Murdoch's guilt, despite a unanimous jury decision at his trial in 2005.
Author Robin Bowles, who wrote "Dead Centre" after spending 60 hours interviewing Murdoch in prison, described the killer as a "gentle giant" and "very courteous".
She claimed that during the interviews, Murdoch disclosed things that "didn't add up" and came to the conclusion that he was innocent.
"I never had a lie from him," Ms Bowles told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
Murdoch appealed against his conviction in 2013, claiming the prosecution improperly influenced Ms Lees during the trial.
But his legal team later withdrew the appeal.
Murdoch was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019.
Hopes that a notorious backpacker killer would reveal where he put the remains of a man he killed in the Australian outback have been dashed.
But the cruel outcome is no surprise to some of those involved in the horrifying case, including one who predicted almost 10 years ago that the "arrogant" murderer would take the secret to his grave.
Bradley John Murdoch, 67, succumbed to throat cancer on Tuesday after being moved from jail in June to a hospital in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
He died under the supervision of correctional officers.
Murdoch was given a life sentence for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio, 28, and the assault and attempted kidnapping of his girlfriend Joanne Lees, now 51, on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in July 2001.
Mr Falconio was driving along the Stuart Highway with Ms Lees when Murdoch drove up behind them and indicated they should pull over, saying their van might have an engine problem.
Mr Falconio went behind the car with him to investigate, and Ms Lees heard a gunshot. Murdoch grabbed her, cable-tied her and covered her head.
But she managed to escape and hid in bushland for five hours while Murdoch hunted her with his dog, before she flagged down a truck driver.
Murdoch is believed to have hidden Mr Falconio's body, which has never been found despite extensive searches.
He was arrested in November 2003 over Falconio's disappearance, after a jury in South Australia acquitted him of raping and falsely imprisoning a 12-year-old girl.
The SA case allowed NT Police to obtain his DNA, which was later found on the make-shift handcuffs worn by Ms Lees, as well as on her T-shirt, leading to his arrest.
But even with a life sentence, and the NT passing "no body, no parole" laws in 2016, that would see Murdoch spend the rest of his days behind bars, he never revealed the site of the remains.
Fifteen years after the backpacker's disappearance, in 2016, the detectives who worked on the case said they believed Murdoch would remain tight-lipped about Mr Falconio's final resting place.
"He'll always maintain his innocence; he'll take that to his grave, I'd be very surprised if he didn't," Colleen Gwynne, who led the four-person team that put Murdoch behind bars, said in 2016.
"He's an extremely arrogant man, so he still feels like the system's done him wrong."
That prediction proved to be correct.
However, authorities still hope that someone else might know where Mr Falconio's body is.
In June, NT Police announced a $500,000 reward to encourage people to come forward.
"It is disappointing for the Falconio family that this case remains unresolved and they are still without the closure they deserve," NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said in a statement on Wednesday after Murdoch's death.
But others have raised doubts about Murdoch's guilt, despite a unanimous jury decision at his trial in 2005.
Author Robin Bowles, who wrote "Dead Centre" after spending 60 hours interviewing Murdoch in prison, described the killer as a "gentle giant" and "very courteous".
She claimed that during the interviews, Murdoch disclosed things that "didn't add up" and came to the conclusion that he was innocent.
"I never had a lie from him," Ms Bowles told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
Murdoch appealed against his conviction in 2013, claiming the prosecution improperly influenced Ms Lees during the trial.
But his legal team later withdrew the appeal.
Murdoch was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019.
Hopes that a notorious backpacker killer would reveal where he put the remains of a man he killed in the Australian outback have been dashed.
But the cruel outcome is no surprise to some of those involved in the horrifying case, including one who predicted almost 10 years ago that the "arrogant" murderer would take the secret to his grave.
Bradley John Murdoch, 67, succumbed to throat cancer on Tuesday after being moved from jail in June to a hospital in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
He died under the supervision of correctional officers.
Murdoch was given a life sentence for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio, 28, and the assault and attempted kidnapping of his girlfriend Joanne Lees, now 51, on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in July 2001.
Mr Falconio was driving along the Stuart Highway with Ms Lees when Murdoch drove up behind them and indicated they should pull over, saying their van might have an engine problem.
Mr Falconio went behind the car with him to investigate, and Ms Lees heard a gunshot. Murdoch grabbed her, cable-tied her and covered her head.
But she managed to escape and hid in bushland for five hours while Murdoch hunted her with his dog, before she flagged down a truck driver.
Murdoch is believed to have hidden Mr Falconio's body, which has never been found despite extensive searches.
He was arrested in November 2003 over Falconio's disappearance, after a jury in South Australia acquitted him of raping and falsely imprisoning a 12-year-old girl.
The SA case allowed NT Police to obtain his DNA, which was later found on the make-shift handcuffs worn by Ms Lees, as well as on her T-shirt, leading to his arrest.
But even with a life sentence, and the NT passing "no body, no parole" laws in 2016, that would see Murdoch spend the rest of his days behind bars, he never revealed the site of the remains.
Fifteen years after the backpacker's disappearance, in 2016, the detectives who worked on the case said they believed Murdoch would remain tight-lipped about Mr Falconio's final resting place.
"He'll always maintain his innocence; he'll take that to his grave, I'd be very surprised if he didn't," Colleen Gwynne, who led the four-person team that put Murdoch behind bars, said in 2016.
"He's an extremely arrogant man, so he still feels like the system's done him wrong."
That prediction proved to be correct.
However, authorities still hope that someone else might know where Mr Falconio's body is.
In June, NT Police announced a $500,000 reward to encourage people to come forward.
"It is disappointing for the Falconio family that this case remains unresolved and they are still without the closure they deserve," NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said in a statement on Wednesday after Murdoch's death.
But others have raised doubts about Murdoch's guilt, despite a unanimous jury decision at his trial in 2005.
Author Robin Bowles, who wrote "Dead Centre" after spending 60 hours interviewing Murdoch in prison, described the killer as a "gentle giant" and "very courteous".
She claimed that during the interviews, Murdoch disclosed things that "didn't add up" and came to the conclusion that he was innocent.
"I never had a lie from him," Ms Bowles told ABC Radio on Wednesday.
Murdoch appealed against his conviction in 2013, claiming the prosecution improperly influenced Ms Lees during the trial.
But his legal team later withdrew the appeal.
Murdoch was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2019.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
NT Police, family hold concerns for welfare over missing 31-year-old Ralph Amital
Northern Territory Police hold concerns for the welfare of 31-year-old Ralph Amital, who was last seen more than 48 hours ago and about 40 kms inland from the Wadeye community. Mr Amital was last seen about 10am Monday walking away from Nama Outstation, NT Police said. He was last seen wearing dark jeans and a green sleeveless top, NT Police said. A search operation is currently being coordinated by the NT Police Search and Rescue Section with the assistance of local police, NT Emergency Services and rangers. His family and police hold concerns for his welfare, and if anybody has sighted Mr Amital or has any further information, please contact 131 444 or visit your local station.
The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Never to be silenced again: Sarah Cook comes out about her abuse in new book
IN her deeply personal book, survivor Sarah Cook talks first about the the Victorian era adage of "children ought to be seen, and not heard". It was that concept of how children should behave, and what their place in society was, which cast the first shadow, Ms Cook says in the preface to her book, Harvesting Silence. Ms Cook is in Newcastle tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) to launch her book, which is dedicated to the family of Andrew Nash. Mr Nash took his own life as a young teenager in 1974 after being abused by a Marist brother in Hamilton. She hopes particularly that the women, some of whom to this day remain silent about the abuse they have suffered, are listening and that they might be emboldened to speak up. Ms Cook said she was punished for speaking up to the nuns who then worked at Loreto Kirribilli, a private Catholic girls' school on Sydney's Lower North Shore. "I was taken into a room with one of the nuns and questioned about this brother, and I told the truth, and she didn't seem to believe me," Ms Cook said. "And then it was just never discussed ever again." For the next three-and-a-half years, she was treated like a deviant, Ms Cook said. "They were cruel, and they picked on me, and I was always in trouble until they eventually expelled me." It was 40 years later that Ms Cook spoke for the first time about her experiences at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, announced in 2014. Her case was later investigated by police, and there is now a warrant out for the arrest of the Marist brother allegedly responsible for her abuse as a child between the ages of 8 and 11. She has also received a written and verbal apology from the Marist brothers, as well as a payout. They tried to silence her again at that point, the now 61-year-old says. "I was not to disclose any information about my legal case and the amount that I received," she said. This time around, rather than staying quiet, she finished writing and has now published her book, which she hopes will inspire other women to break the cycle of shame attached to maintaining silence. "Those who have been wronged deserve justice," the book's preface says. "The historical failings of institutions that were meant to protect children-and the present-day practices of the Australian legal system-are laid bare in this book to raise awareness for generations to come." The book launch is being hosted by the Clergy Abused Network at the Soul Hub from 3.30pm. IN her deeply personal book, survivor Sarah Cook talks first about the the Victorian era adage of "children ought to be seen, and not heard". It was that concept of how children should behave, and what their place in society was, which cast the first shadow, Ms Cook says in the preface to her book, Harvesting Silence. Ms Cook is in Newcastle tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) to launch her book, which is dedicated to the family of Andrew Nash. Mr Nash took his own life as a young teenager in 1974 after being abused by a Marist brother in Hamilton. She hopes particularly that the women, some of whom to this day remain silent about the abuse they have suffered, are listening and that they might be emboldened to speak up. Ms Cook said she was punished for speaking up to the nuns who then worked at Loreto Kirribilli, a private Catholic girls' school on Sydney's Lower North Shore. "I was taken into a room with one of the nuns and questioned about this brother, and I told the truth, and she didn't seem to believe me," Ms Cook said. "And then it was just never discussed ever again." For the next three-and-a-half years, she was treated like a deviant, Ms Cook said. "They were cruel, and they picked on me, and I was always in trouble until they eventually expelled me." It was 40 years later that Ms Cook spoke for the first time about her experiences at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, announced in 2014. Her case was later investigated by police, and there is now a warrant out for the arrest of the Marist brother allegedly responsible for her abuse as a child between the ages of 8 and 11. She has also received a written and verbal apology from the Marist brothers, as well as a payout. They tried to silence her again at that point, the now 61-year-old says. "I was not to disclose any information about my legal case and the amount that I received," she said. This time around, rather than staying quiet, she finished writing and has now published her book, which she hopes will inspire other women to break the cycle of shame attached to maintaining silence. "Those who have been wronged deserve justice," the book's preface says. "The historical failings of institutions that were meant to protect children-and the present-day practices of the Australian legal system-are laid bare in this book to raise awareness for generations to come." The book launch is being hosted by the Clergy Abused Network at the Soul Hub from 3.30pm. IN her deeply personal book, survivor Sarah Cook talks first about the the Victorian era adage of "children ought to be seen, and not heard". It was that concept of how children should behave, and what their place in society was, which cast the first shadow, Ms Cook says in the preface to her book, Harvesting Silence. Ms Cook is in Newcastle tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) to launch her book, which is dedicated to the family of Andrew Nash. Mr Nash took his own life as a young teenager in 1974 after being abused by a Marist brother in Hamilton. She hopes particularly that the women, some of whom to this day remain silent about the abuse they have suffered, are listening and that they might be emboldened to speak up. Ms Cook said she was punished for speaking up to the nuns who then worked at Loreto Kirribilli, a private Catholic girls' school on Sydney's Lower North Shore. "I was taken into a room with one of the nuns and questioned about this brother, and I told the truth, and she didn't seem to believe me," Ms Cook said. "And then it was just never discussed ever again." For the next three-and-a-half years, she was treated like a deviant, Ms Cook said. "They were cruel, and they picked on me, and I was always in trouble until they eventually expelled me." It was 40 years later that Ms Cook spoke for the first time about her experiences at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, announced in 2014. Her case was later investigated by police, and there is now a warrant out for the arrest of the Marist brother allegedly responsible for her abuse as a child between the ages of 8 and 11. She has also received a written and verbal apology from the Marist brothers, as well as a payout. They tried to silence her again at that point, the now 61-year-old says. "I was not to disclose any information about my legal case and the amount that I received," she said. This time around, rather than staying quiet, she finished writing and has now published her book, which she hopes will inspire other women to break the cycle of shame attached to maintaining silence. "Those who have been wronged deserve justice," the book's preface says. "The historical failings of institutions that were meant to protect children-and the present-day practices of the Australian legal system-are laid bare in this book to raise awareness for generations to come." The book launch is being hosted by the Clergy Abused Network at the Soul Hub from 3.30pm. IN her deeply personal book, survivor Sarah Cook talks first about the the Victorian era adage of "children ought to be seen, and not heard". It was that concept of how children should behave, and what their place in society was, which cast the first shadow, Ms Cook says in the preface to her book, Harvesting Silence. Ms Cook is in Newcastle tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) to launch her book, which is dedicated to the family of Andrew Nash. Mr Nash took his own life as a young teenager in 1974 after being abused by a Marist brother in Hamilton. She hopes particularly that the women, some of whom to this day remain silent about the abuse they have suffered, are listening and that they might be emboldened to speak up. Ms Cook said she was punished for speaking up to the nuns who then worked at Loreto Kirribilli, a private Catholic girls' school on Sydney's Lower North Shore. "I was taken into a room with one of the nuns and questioned about this brother, and I told the truth, and she didn't seem to believe me," Ms Cook said. "And then it was just never discussed ever again." For the next three-and-a-half years, she was treated like a deviant, Ms Cook said. "They were cruel, and they picked on me, and I was always in trouble until they eventually expelled me." It was 40 years later that Ms Cook spoke for the first time about her experiences at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, announced in 2014. Her case was later investigated by police, and there is now a warrant out for the arrest of the Marist brother allegedly responsible for her abuse as a child between the ages of 8 and 11. She has also received a written and verbal apology from the Marist brothers, as well as a payout. They tried to silence her again at that point, the now 61-year-old says. "I was not to disclose any information about my legal case and the amount that I received," she said. This time around, rather than staying quiet, she finished writing and has now published her book, which she hopes will inspire other women to break the cycle of shame attached to maintaining silence. "Those who have been wronged deserve justice," the book's preface says. "The historical failings of institutions that were meant to protect children-and the present-day practices of the Australian legal system-are laid bare in this book to raise awareness for generations to come." The book launch is being hosted by the Clergy Abused Network at the Soul Hub from 3.30pm.
Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Still people ask me: Did Murdoch really kill Falconio? I have only one response
In his prison cell, Bradley John Murdoch read the book I wrote about him – that and the other five detailing his crimes. Further feeding his ego were the blanket media coverage and five documentaries. Then there were the W olf Creek and Wolf Creek 2 horror films, and the TV spin-off – also called Wolf Creek – all loosely based on a mix of two backpacker killers, Murdoch and Ivan Milat. Murdoch, a bastard until the end, refused until his death on Tuesday night in a hospital palliative care unit in Alice Springs – his only respite from jail – to reveal where he'd hidden the body of British tourist Peter Falconio. Monday had marked 24 years to the day that Murdoch shot dead Falconio and attempted to abduct his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, near the remote Northern Territory town of Barrow Creek, on the lonely road from Adelaide to Darwin. Murdoch had hoped that continually protesting his innocence, while flinging mud at Lees – with the vile insinuation that she was somehow involved in Falconio's death – would fire up his motley band of deluded supporters and conspiracy theorists and even put enough doubt in the minds of authorities to force his release. The drug-peddling thug was convicted in December 2005. I went to every single court hearing Murdoch sat through, interviewed nearly everyone involved with the case, and closely traced his background and that of Falconio and Lees. I'm regularly interviewed for TV and radio, and by those documentary makers. And the one question I'm invariably asked is: Did he really do it? Surely, without the body, there's always going to be doubt? Well, no, there isn't. Loading But still they asked. There is the appalling three-part British Channel 4 'true crime' series in 2020, Murder in the Outback: the Falconio and Lees Mystery. It wasn't a mystery at all, yet that dross compounded the absurd doubts fanned by the late, disgraced defence lawyer for Falconio, Andrew Fraser, who himself was sentenced to seven years in a maximum-security jail for being knowingly concerned with an importation of cocaine. To begin with, as Murdoch told a snitch planted in his cell in the early days, he didn't want his elderly widowed mum to know the truth about her youngest son. But after she died, what excuse could he have had for refusing to tell police the location of Falconio's body, to allow his family to take him home for burial? Murdoch had been sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 28 years and every appeal had been quashed. He had nothing further to lose by finally pinpointing the body. He knew how much more suffering he was inflicting on his victim's grieving parents, and on Lees. Instead, as Falconio's mother told me, every time there was a knock at her door, every time the phone rang, she thought it might be news about her son. Can you imagine such pain?
