Advocates hit out after reports of special treatment for notorious killer
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Victim advocates have hit out after reports one of Australia's most notorious killers has been given special treatment for his final days after being moved into palliative care. Bradley John Murdoch was convicted of the 2001 murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio and is serving a life sentence for the crime that occurred near Barrow Creek in the Northern Territory. Today, NT officials refused to deny reports he has been moved to palliative care and that he has been permitted outings into the community and even back to the prison to say goodbye to his mates. Victim advocates have hit out after reports one of Australia's most notorious killers has been given special treatment for his final days after being moved into palliative care. (9News) "I find it difficult to accept that a person who has murdered someone should be able to be out and about on the street unless it is only for the purpose of treatment," victims' rights advocate Michael O'Connell said. "He shouldn't be engaged in other activity other than prison to hospital, hospital to prison." Murdoch ambushed Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees on the Stuart Highway on July 14, 2001. He fatally shot Falconio and attempted to abduct Lees, who managed to escape and was later rescued. Murdoch was extradited from Adelaide to the Northern Territory in 2003 and convicted over Falconio's death. "I love Pete so much, and I want to bring him home - I need to bring him home," Lees said in an interview with the Nine Network in 2017. Murdoch has consistently maintained his innocence and has never disclosed the location of Falconio's remains. "She has made it quite clear that she'll never fully be at peace until she finds Peter's body. There's an opportunity here now for Bradley Murdoch," O'Connell said. This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress . national
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Courier-Mail
11 hours ago
- Courier-Mail
Peter Falconio's killer, Bradley Murdoch, in palliative care at Alice Springs
Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. The man responsible for one of Australia's most notorious murders is close to death, according to media reports. Bradley John Murdoch, 67, has been taken from prison to palliative care at Alice Springs Hospital, the NT News reports. Murdoch murdered British tourist Peter Falconio in 2001 and languished in prison under the territory's 'no body, no parole' rules despite exhaustive failed legal appeals. Peter Falconio and Joanna Lees were targeted on a remote stretch of highway in the Northern Territory. Murdoch said goodbye to his fellow inmates on June 19, the NT News reports, as terminal cancer confined him to a wheelchair. An NT Corrections spokesman told NewsWire 'The Department of Corrections does not comment on the health of individual prisoners'. 'Additionally, we do not provide details about prisoner movements or escorts for operational security reasons.' Bradley John Murdoch is serving a life sentence with a 28-year non-parole period. Picture: Patrina Malone On holiday from the UK, Mr Falconio, 28, and his girlfriend Joanne Lees, then 27, were driving a Combi van north of Barrow Creek in central NT on July 14, 2001. Murdoch – a drug runner – waved them to the side of the road and shot Mr Falconio. Ms Lees was bound and placed in Murdoch's Land Cruiser but escaped and hid on the side of the road for hours before flagging down help. A jury unanimously found Murdoch guilty of murder 2005. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 28 years, before 'no body, no parole' laws came into effect in 2016. Mr Falconio's body has never been found. Originally published as Peter Falconio's killer, Bradley Murdoch, in palliative care
9 News
14 hours ago
- 9 News
Advocates hit out after reports of special treatment for notorious killer
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Victim advocates have hit out after reports one of Australia's most notorious killers has been given special treatment for his final days after being moved into palliative care. Bradley John Murdoch was convicted of the 2001 murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio and is serving a life sentence for the crime that occurred near Barrow Creek in the Northern Territory. Today, NT officials refused to deny reports he has been moved to palliative care and that he has been permitted outings into the community and even back to the prison to say goodbye to his mates. Victim advocates have hit out after reports one of Australia's most notorious killers has been given special treatment for his final days after being moved into palliative care. (9News) "I find it difficult to accept that a person who has murdered someone should be able to be out and about on the street unless it is only for the purpose of treatment," victims' rights advocate Michael O'Connell said. "He shouldn't be engaged in other activity other than prison to hospital, hospital to prison." Murdoch ambushed Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees on the Stuart Highway on July 14, 2001. He fatally shot Falconio and attempted to abduct Lees, who managed to escape and was later rescued. Murdoch was extradited from Adelaide to the Northern Territory in 2003 and convicted over Falconio's death. "I love Pete so much, and I want to bring him home - I need to bring him home," Lees said in an interview with the Nine Network in 2017. Murdoch has consistently maintained his innocence and has never disclosed the location of Falconio's remains. "She has made it quite clear that she'll never fully be at peace until she finds Peter's body. There's an opportunity here now for Bradley Murdoch," O'Connell said. This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress . national Australia Northern Territory crime murder 9ExPress CONTACT US
Courier-Mail
14 hours ago
- Courier-Mail
TV reviews: don't miss Smoke, The Waterfront, Countdown and Parental Guidance
We've sifted through the latest offerings from TV and streaming platforms to find the best shows you should be watching this week. Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett on the trail of arsonists in Smoke on Apple TV+. SMOKE FRIDAY, APPLE TV+ For anyone contemplating writing off this hot new series as just another crime drama after the first episode, stick around for at least the first two when they air on Friday. Although it's adapted from the popular podcast Firebug, and inspired by true events, it's best to go in as spoiler free as possible to get the most of the frequent twists and turns as a dogged detective (True Blood's Jurnee Smollett) and a firefighter-turned-arson investigator (Rocketman's Taron Egerton) push the boundaries of law enforcement and each other's buttons as they hunt down two serial arsonists in America's Pacific Northwest. Golden Globe winner Egerton is particularly good as the slightly off-kilter Dave Gudsen, who is feeling the pressure of his job while juggling a strained relationship with his wife and stepson and delusions of grandeur as an author. Creator Dennis Lehane, who also wrote Mystic River and Shutter Island, digs into the psychology of those who light fires out of feelings of powerlessness and the blazes themselves – and the emotional and physical damage they wreak – are at times truly terrifying. British institution Harrods is fighting to maintain its status as the most famous shop in the world. HARRODS: THE RISE AND FALL OF A BRITISH INSTUTION WEDNESDAY, 8.30PM, SBS Although Harrods remains a byword for class and quality for many and a vital stop on any London tourist itinerary, the up-market department store's reputation has taken a battering of late since serious allegations of sexual assault and harassment arose against its late former owner Mohamed Al-Fayed. This documentary traces the rise of what began as a humble tea shop in East London in 1874 to become the most famous shop in the world, occupying an entire block of some of the most expensive real estate in the world. Through aspiration and innovation – it courted royals and the rich and famous and was the first shop to install an escalator – it rose to the status of British institution, a reputation it is fighting to maintain despite the recent bad press. A bachelor party goes very wrong in the UK black comedy drama Stags. STAGS WEDNESDAY, 11PM, CHANNEL 7, 7 PLUS From Bachelor Party to The Hangover, the stag-do gone horribly wrong has been a screen staple for decades but this rollicking, brutal, six-part British black-comedy-drama might just outdo the lot. It focuses on groom-to-be Stu and seven of his idiot mates as they embark on a wild week of drink and drugs in South America – but things go sideways quickly when one makes the monumentally stupid decision to smuggle cocaine on to a plane. Before they know it, they are whisked off to a prison that 'makes Guantanamo look bougie' and doesn't even need walls because it's ringed by a minefield. With no consular assistance and trial date possibly years away, they are left to fend for themselves among the thugs, grifters, gangsters and even organ harvesters – and not everyone is going return home alive. Sam Konstas is expected to make his return to the Australian Test side in the West Indies. AUSTRALIA V WEST INDIES WEDNESDAY, 11.45PM, KAYO, DISNEY+ After the disappointment of losing the World Test Championship to South Africa in London earlier this month, the Aussies will be desperate to prove they still deserve to be the No.1 ranked Test side playing away to a team that's currently sitting in 8th spot. It will be new-look side too, with makeshift opener Marnus Labushagne finally running out of chances and replaced by mercurial teenager Sam Konstas and the ever-reliable former skipper Steve Smith likely to miss the first game with a finger injury. The once-great Windies are coming off the back of a shocking tour of England and Ireland but might be a very different proposition in their own backyard over three Tests and five T20s. Eric Dane, centre, heads up a team of elite agents in Countdown. Picture: Prime Video COUNTDOWN WEDNESDAY, PRIME VIDEO Not to be confused with the beloved Aussie music show of the same name – and to be honest, I'm not sure what Molly Meldrum would bring to the crack team of crime-fighters – but do yourself a favour and check it out anyway. There's nothing particularly original about this new crime drama about a secret squad of law-enforcement misfits brought together to prevent disaster in Los Angeles but when you've seen a high-octane foot chase ending in a cold-blooded execution, a brutal prison-yard brawl and a torture scene in a drug-den basement – all in the first ten minutes – you know it's never going to be dull. While the squabbling crew of tough nuts from different law enforcement agencies, and headed up by Eric Dane's sage FBI boss, butt heads as they tangle with gangs and cartels, it soon becomes clear they are dealing with something much more dangerous than drugs. Robson Green and Rishi Nair in Grantchester. GRANTCHESTER SATURDAY, 7.30PM, ABC It might seem odd that the small and strangely murder-prone Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester has had three consecutive vicars with a penchant for solving crimes, but Rishi Nair is filling out the cassock and collar very nicely in his second outing playing the dashing Reverend Alphy Kotteram as the much loved 1950s-set detective drama enters its tenth season. Of course there's a mystery for Alphy and DI Georgie Keating (Robson Green) to unpack – a man is found dead in suspicious circumstances at the Easter church fete while wearing bunny costume – but there's also romance in the air and a genuinely touching side plot of gay former curate Leonard still wrestling with family estrangement. Holt McCallany as the tough-as-nails Harlan Buckley in The Waterfront. THE WATERFRONT NETFLIX Kevin Williamson, the man behind Dawson's Creek, is the creator of this solidly soapy crime drama about a once powerful North Carolina family faced with the imminent demise of its fishing empire and trying to turn things around by throwing a line into the highly lucrative – and dangerous – drug trade. Tough guy patriarch Harlan Buckley, returning from a heart attack but unwilling to give up his hard-drinking ways, is initially unimpressed with the deal concocted by his desperate-to-impress son Cane and hard-nosed wife Belle to run drugs using their fleet. But after a $10 million haul gets hijacked and the family is on the hook, his ready fists, shady contacts and knowledge of how to extract information or dispose of a body are their best shot at coming out on top. Sandra Sully and Grant Denyer on Deal Or No Deal. DEAL OR NO DEAL MONDAY, 7PM, CHANNEL 10 With the imminent demise of The Project (we'll miss you!), Gold Logie winner Grant Denyer's snappy game show kicks off in a new timeslot from next week with an assist from revered newsreader Sandra Sully. After picking suitcase No. 10 – of course – Sully proves to have nerves of steel in her quest to win $100,000 for SpinalCure Australia. The classy network veteran has been involved with the charity since meeting former Superman Christopher Reeves, who was paralysed in a horse riding accident, and speaks passionately about helping return dignity and respect to those living with spinal injuries. The usually irrepressible Denyer also gets emotional while remembering the prospect of never walking again after breaking his back in 2008 in a stunt gone wrong. Trainwreck: Poop Cruise spotlights a pleasure cruise that went horribly wrong. TRAINWRECK: POOP CRUISE NETFLIX Travel enthusiasts considering a cruise in the near future should probably steer clear of this morbidly fascinating doco that spotlights the horrific 2013 voyage of the Carnival Triumph, which was left stranded and without power in the Gulf Of Mexico after an engine fire. As if losing the means to party wasn't bad enough for the thousands of revellers on board, worse was yet to come when they found out that almost all the toilets were busted and the only solution available was to do No.1s in the shower and No.2s in a plastic bag – with predictably disgusting results. Passengers, crew and press recall the nightmare when tension ran high as supplies ran low – leading some bright spark to suggest that free drinks would be the best way to get passengers back on side. What could possibly go wrong? Parenting expert and author Justin Coulson and A Current Affair presenter Ally Langdon host Parental Guidance. PARENTAL GUIDANCE MONDAY, 7.30PM, CHANNEL 9 Parenting expert and author Justin Coulson and A Current Affair presenter Ally Langdon host this compelling – and often frightening – four-part series that addresses some of the most pressing issues facing children today. They are assisted by real-life parents with very different approaches on raising children, and whose kids are given tasks they can all then discuss to see what they can learn from each other. First up is the ever-thorny issue of screen time – how much is too much, what are the dangers and benefits, and how does emerging AI fit in to an environment that can be riddled with predators, bullying and inappropriate content. Other big topics to be covered in coming weeks include peer pressure, body image and mental health. Regan Aliyah and Michelle Dockery in Please Don't Feed the Children. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT … PLEASE DON'T FEED THE CHILDREN Streaming 2pm Friday, Tubi. LIKE Sofia Coppola did before her, Destry Allyn Spielberg has stepped out from the very large cinematic shadow of her famous father, to forge her own path as a director. Distancing herself from her Oscar-winning dad Stephen's signature schtick of fantasy and wonderment, the junior Spielberg is making her mark with psychological thrillers. For first feature film directorial debut, which follows her award-winning short movie Let Me Go (The Right Way) – a nepo-baby collaboration starring Sean Penn's son Hopper and written by Stephen King's son Owen – Spielberg has enlisted Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery as her lead. Dockery plays a deranged woman who takes in a group of orphans looking for sanctuary from a pandemic. Originally published as What to watch this week: red-hot crime drama Smoke full of twists; parent tips for tricky kids' issues
