Police receive tip-offs on Peter Falconio's remains after killer's death
Police in Australia have revealed they've received detailed tip-offs on the whereabouts of the remains of murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio.
Police offered a new huge £240,000 reward just before Peter's murderer died of throat cancer this week. The death of Bradley John Murdoch could finally open the doors for Peter's final resting place to be revealed. Police said they could 'confirm' they had received new 'information' and they were checking it out. Experts said that they were hopeful Peter's remains would be found 24 years after he was killed in the Australian outback.
Criminologist Xanthe Mallett said 'a lot can have changed' in almost a quarter of a century, and "people may now be able to speak that couldn't at the time".
She said: 'There's always the chance that Bradley Murdoch would have shared some information, and people wouldn't have been able to share that until he's dead, so this may be an opportunity. I'm hoping that people out there do know something."
Dr Mallett, from the Central Queensland University ,said DNA could "remain active for decades" depending on "exactly how they've been left", making it possible to identify Mr Falconio if a new lead were to reveal his final resting place. She said: 'If human remains are found in the bush … whomever they are, if they're human remains, it's likely that they will be able to get DNA from them, either from the bones or from the teeth.
"So if that person's DNA is on record, as I'm sure Peter's would be, then you could do a match to those remains. It's finding those remains in the first place that is going to be the key challenge." The Northern Territory Police said it 'remains committed' to solving the cold case.
In a statement acknowledging Murdoch's death, the Northern Territory Police Force said it was "deeply regrettable that Murdoch has died without, as far as we are aware, ever disclosing the location of Peter Falconio's remains. The Northern Territory Police Force remains committed to resolving this final piece of the investigation.
"We continue to appeal to anyone who may have information that could lead us to Peter Falconio's remains to come forward, no matter how small the detail may seem." Last month NT Police announced a $500,000 (£240,000) reward for information leading to the discovery of Mr Falconio's remains, saying investigators still "hold out hope" of finding his body.
"There may be someone out there that he's confided in - whether that's family and friends - we just don't know," Acting Commander Mark Grieve said in June. "It's a good opportunity for us to up the ante in regards to the reward. We think there's still people out there that may hold some information."
A NT Police spokesperson said investigators were yet to verify tips they had received since increasing the reward. He said: 'The Northern Territory Police Force can confirm it has received information since the announcement of the reward; however, the information is yet to be verified," he said. Falconio's parents Luciano and Joan have said 'still hold out hope'.
In a statement to they said: "We didn't have much faith, but we were hoping Bradley John Murdoch would reveal where Peter was before he died," they said. "Even now we still hold out hope that his remains will be found." Upon hearing the news of Murdoch's death, Falconio's parents said their "first feeling was of relief". It's like a weight that's been lifted," they said.
"We are only forced to think about [Murdoch] now that he's died, we don't want to let him ruin our lives more than he already has. The awful thing is our family's future with Peter was cruelly taken away. Today, we instead focus on the three children we have left and our grandchildren."
The family also expressed their "profound thanks" to the Northern Territory Police "for the support and continuing efforts to investigate our son's murder". During Murdoch's sentencing in 2005, Chief Justice Brian Martin said the killer put Mr Falconio's body into his vehicle before dumping it somewhere between Alice Springs and Broome - a distance spanning over 1000 miles.
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