Huge £240K reward to help find remains of Brit backpacker 24 years after murder
Australian police have announced a huge new reward for any new information that leads to the discovery of British backpacker Peter Falconio's remains
Australian police have announced a huge new 500,000 Australian dollar (£238,670) reward for information that leads to the discovery of British backpacker Peter Falconio's remains.
Bradley John Murdoch is serving a life sentence for killing Falconio and attacking his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, on a remote highway in the Northern Territory back in 2001. Police said ahead of the 24th anniversary of the murder next month they held out 'hope' that someone would now come forward.
Mr Falconio and Ms Lees, both from Yorkshire, were backpacking across the country in a camper van when they were ambushed down by Murdoch on the Stuart Highway, an isolated road that runs through the centre of Australia. Murdoch was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for at least 28 years.
He has never revealed the location of Mr Falconio's body. Acting Northern Territory Police commander Mark Grieve said police "still hold out hope" someone may hold "vital information" to aid in the search. He said: 'In what will be the 24th anniversary of (Falconio's) death this July, being next month, we're asking for anyone who may believe they have information that can assist to please come forward and contact police.
"It's never too late to reach out, and at least start that conversation with police, because you just never know how beneficial that information that you may hold may be. We recognise the passage of time that's transpired, however, it's never too late to reach out and start that conversation with police." Murdoch, 67, was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019 and was moved to palliative care from Alice Springs Correctional Centre earlier this month, according to local media reports.
Mr Falconio's body has never been found. His killer has always maintained his innocence. Ms Lees, who has since returned to the UK, told Australian current affairs programme 60 Minutes in 2017 she still wanted to "bring him home". Pete lost his life on that night, but I lost mine too," she said at the time.
"I'll never be fully at peace if Pete's not found, but I accept that that is a possibility." Murdoch lodged several unsuccessful appeals over the years, with Australia's highest court refusing to hear his case in 2007. He was not eligible for parole until 2033, but would have remained behind bars under "no body, no parole" laws preventing him from being released if he refused to disclose Mr Falconio's whereabouts.
Mr Falconio and Ms Lees had been driving near the tiny settlement of Barrow Creek, around 188 miles north of Alice Springs, when Murdoch pulled up beside them claiming to have seen sparks coming from the Kombi van. He then shot Mr Falconio in the head as he inspected the vehicle, before forcing Ms Lees into his vehicle and binding her wrists with cable ties. She managed a daring escape, hiding in the outback scrub for hours before flagging down a passing truck.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Murdoch had likely disposed of the backpacker's body somewhere in the vast, remote expanse of desert between Alice Springs and Broome, covering more than 1,200 miles.
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