Peter Falconio: 'Everyone knows who he is, he will never be forgotten'

BBC News

5 days ago

West Yorkshire's picturesque Holme Valley lies around 10,000 miles from the dry, dusty expanse of Australia's Northern Territory where backpacker Peter Falconio was shot and killed 24 years ago this week.But, despite the passage of time, the 28-year-old has never been forgotten in the rural but tight-knit community where he grew up.
Outside the Post Office in New Mill, about six miles south of Huddersfield, a plain wooden bench stands as a tribute to Peter Falconio.The bench - dedicated to "the memory of our son" - is sited outside the business his family used to run and not far from the Falconio home.It offers a place to sit and remember Peter, but it also offers a tangible memorial to a young man whose body has never been found.His killer, Bradley Murdoch, who died on Tuesday, has never revealed what he did with the 28-year-old's remains after he shot him dead on a remote road near Alice Springs.
In a statement, the Falconios said they felt "relief" at hearing of Murdoch's death, adding that they "still hold out hope" their son's remains can one day be found.New Mill resident Angela Holmes, who has known the Falconios for most of her life, recalls how the 2001 murder "devastated everybody" in the community."He was a lovely bloke who came from a lovely family," the 62-year-old says."People feel sorry for the family having no closure. (Murdoch) knew he was dying and so he should have done the right thing and told of where he put Peter's body."Peter will never be forgotten. Every time you mention his name, everyone knows who he is."
John Keddy, 76, moved to New Mill a year before Mr Falconio's death and regarded his family as "nice and cheerful".He too remembers a "state of shock and sadness" affecting the locals."When it's someone in your own community, you never think it's going to happen, something like that".
Mr Falconio was travelling across the Australian Outback with his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, also from Huddersfield, in July 2001.Their vehicle was pulled over by mechanic and truck driver Murdoch near the town of Barrow Creek, who shot the University of Brighton graduate and tied up Ms Lees, before she later managed to escape after hiding in bushland. Murdoch was convicted of the killing in December 2005 by a unanimous jury verdict and was also found guilty of the assault and attempted kidnap of Ms Lees. He appealed unsuccessfully against his conviction and would never admit responsibility for his actions.
Neil Atkinson, who was news editor at The Huddersfield Examiner at the time of the killing, recalls the world's media converging on Holme Valley's "very quiet" villages. "It was almost like a TV drama being played out in real life," he recalls. "It was a murder on the other side of the world, but it was people who came from Huddersfield involved. People were avidly following it."Huddersfield is and always has been a close-knit and friendly community and if something happens to someone from Huddersfield, they react with surprise, shock and anger, whatever it happens to be."Mr Atkinson, who worked at the Examiner for 42 years, believes it was the "unusual" circumstances of the murder which kept it intermittently in the news headlines over the two decades that followed."Most murders you'd find there is a motive and most of them are connected to the victim," he adds."This was such a strange scenario with this young couple many thousands of miles from home enjoying what you'd think was a dream holiday, and then something so terrible happens to them."
Damian Brook, a Conservative councillor for Holme Valley South, worked in Huddersfield for West Yorkshire Police at the time and remembers the case well. "Peter was well known in the Holme Valley community and the shock did affect people in the area," he says."Clearly it's very disappointing for the family that they weren't told where the remains were. Until you're able to bury someone properly, it's very difficult to get that closure."The Falconios said that despite hoping Murdoch would reveal where their son's remains were they had little faith in him ever doing so. While his death has "lifted a weight" on the family, their questions remain painfully unanswered.
Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.