Peter Falconio: Police offer huge reward in bid to finally solve Australia murder mystery
Australian police have announced a new reward in the enduring mystery surrounding the disappearance of British backpacker Peter Falconio, whose remains have never been found despite his killer being jailed over two decades ago.
A reward of $500,000 (£238,670) is now being offered for information leading to the discovery of Mr Falconio's body. Bradley John Murdoch is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of the West Yorkshire man and the assault of his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, on a remote stretch of the Stuart Highway in Australia's Northern Territory in 2001.
Mr Falconio and Ms Lees, both from Yorkshire, were on a backpacking trip across Australia in a camper van when they were ambushed by Murdoch on the isolated Stuart Highway, a major road traversing the centre of the country. Murdoch was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of 28 years.
Despite his conviction, Murdoch has consistently refused to disclose the location of Mr Falconio's remains, leaving a painful void for his family and friends and perpetuating one of Australia's most enduring unsolved mysteries. The new reward aims to finally bring closure to the case.
Acting Northern Territory Police commander Mark Grieve said police 'still hold out hope' someone may hold 'vital information' to aid in the search.
'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,' he told media in Darwin.
'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 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.
Despite repeated searches, 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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Wild moment teenager who 'stole taxi' crashes on road spikes - before cop performs a dramatic takedown
Dramatic footage has captured the moment police used road spikes to apprehend the 17-year-old driver of an allegedly stolen taxi during a high-speed chase. Queensland Police allege the teenager broke into multiple Cairns homes across Edmonton, Mount Sheridan and Woree in the early hours of Monday morning. The Mooroobool boy, who police said is a well-known youth offender, is alleged to have first stolen a Mitsubishi Outlander from a Savage Close address about 11.15am. He allegedly abandoned that vehicle after driving over police spikes on Links Drive before he stole a nearby Toyota Camry taxi after forcibly removing its driver. The 59-year-old taxi driver suffered a minor back injury and was taken to Cairns Hospital for treatment. The teenager then allegedly drove the taxi dangerously around Cairns before hitting a second set of road spikes on nearby Mayers Street at around 11.35am. In footage obtained by Seven News, an officer could be seen hiding behind a boat parked on a suburban road before he threw the spikes across both lanes. The teenager attempted to avoid the spikes, but clipped the edge and crashed into a parked Hyundai, sending the unoccupied vehicle careening out of frame of the camera. The officer who deployed the spikes could then be heard repeatedly yelling for the boy to get out of the vehicle. Moments later, the teenager exited the crumpled vehicle and was tackled to the ground by the officer, and a struggle ensues before he restrained him. 'Get your f***-ing hands behind your back c***,' the officer shouted. 'Do not f***ing move.' A second officer arrived to assist, and the teenager was placed under arrest as emergency vehicles converged on the scene. The 17-year-old was charged with two counts each of attempted enter dwelling with intent, unlawful use of a motor vehicle and dangerous operation of a vehicle whilst adversely affected and speeding more than 40km/h and one count of robbery. He was refused bail and appeared in Cairns Children's Court on Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to unlawful entry, unlawful use of motor vehicle, dangerous driving while intoxicated and attempted unlawful entry, the Courier-Mail reported. A local businesswoman Gillian Tap claimed her daughter was almost hit by the runaway taxi when it ran a red light. 'If she was seconds quicker she could have been killed. She was shaken up from it, this is just terrible,' she said. The boy is expected to be sentenced for non-indictable offences on July 15 while more serious offences will be dealt with by way of committal mention. No application for bail was made. He was treated at Cairns Hospital for a minor head injury.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Bradley Murdoch may take truth of Peter Falconio's murder to grave
Police have offered a half-million Australian dollar reward for information leading to the discovery of the remains of a British backpacker whose murder 24 years ago on a remote highway chilled Australians and sparked a wave of outback crime thrillers. The A$500,000 (£239,000) reward for information on Peter Falconio's body is among the largest offered by police in Australia and comes as the rogue desert wanderer convicted of his murder, Bradley Murdoch, 67, nears death from cancer in a Northern Territory prison. The outback killer, who was found guilty of the murder in December 2005, was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019. Despite continued efforts by police, Falconio's remains have never been found, leading to fears that Murdoch will take the location of the body to his grave. Mark Grieve, the Northern Territory police commander, announced the reward on Wednesday, adding that officers 'still hold out hope that someone will be able to provide some vital information to assist in this search'. Murdoch has always refused to say where in the outback he hid Falconio's remains. 'We've made numerous approaches to Mr Murdoch over the years that have been passed up —including very recently, this week,' Grieve told reporters. 'Unfortunately, the outcome of those conversations rests with Mr Murdoch. On all occasions, he has chosen not to positively engage with police.' It was reported on Tuesday that Murdoch was near death and had been transferred to a prison palliative care unit. Police have repeatedly conducted searches for Falconio's remains around the scene of his murder near the desert hamlet of Barrow Creek, 174 miles north of Alice Springs in central Australia. Falconio, 28, from West Yorkshire, was driving his orange Volkswagen campervan at night along the 1,690-mile Stuart Highway in the remote Northern Territory with his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, 27. They were followed by a pick-up truck, driven by Murdoch, who trafficked drugs across the outback. Falconio pulled over after Murdoch signalled that the campervan was faulty. Murdoch shot him dead on the roadside then climbed into the vehicle. He tied Lees's hands and attempted to bind her feet and tape her mouth but she fought him off. Murdoch dragged her into the back of his Toyota four-wheel-drive but she managed to flee into the bush while he was moving Falconio's body. Murdoch searched for Lees before leaving, passing nearby three times, but she stayed hidden before finally flagging down a passing lorry in the early hours of the next day. Murdoch was found guilty of Falconio's murder by a jury in a unanimous verdict. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 28 years. He was also convicted of other assault-related charges on Lees. Only after the sentencing was it revealed that Murdoch had previously been acquitted of aggravated sexual assault on a mother and daughter in South Australia years earlier. Falconio's murder partly inspired the Australian crime thriller, Wolf Creek, in which three backpackers, two British and one Australian, are hunted down and captured by an outback serial killer. Falconio's father, Luciano, speaking from his home in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, told MailOnline he had only found out about his son's killer's poor health from media reports. 'We don't know anything about him receiving end of life care, we have not been told,' he said. His wife, Joan, was too distressed to speak, fearing that the killer's potentially imminent death would prevent the couple from ever finding out the truth of their son's fate. Now aged in her early fifties, Lees still lives Huddersfield. Joan Falconio has previously told how she and her husband, who have three other sons, have remained in contact with Lees, who was once a suspect in his murder case.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
NSW MP Gareth Ward likened to ‘vampire running a blood bank' by alleged sexual assault victim, court hears
A court has heard a New South Wales state MP's alleged sexual abuse victim was spurred to action after learning the politician had been appointed as families minister, which he likened to a vampire running a blood bank. The Kiama MP, Gareth Ward, 44, is on trial in the NSW district court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges. He is accused of inviting a drunk 18-year-old man – who was 17 when they met – to his south coast home in February 2013. The man told the jury Ward plied him with drinks before indecently assaulting him three times in one night. He said he had been prompted to report the assaults to police in 2020 after he realised Ward had been appointed the NSW minister for families. 'I felt basically that a vampire was running the blood bank and that I had a responsibility that I needed to get it on the record,' the complainant said. He told the jury he was 'very distressed' by Ward's ministerial role and found it 'very inappropriate'. But the complainant said he was also scared of Ward's power and feared there could be 'significant consequences' if he spoke out. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The jury heard his decision came years after he confided in a friend about the alleged assaults, only to be told he should have expected it when he went to Ward's house. '[The friend] said something to the effect of 'that was obviously going to happen' and … I must be gay for wanting to go there,' the complainant recalled. He told the jury he thought the incident was probably his fault so he decided he needed to put it aside, pretend it never happened, and 'just go on with being Gareth's bro'. The alleged assault was sparked when the 18-year-old – who had been drinking and was in a 'jocular mood' – decided to play a prank on Ward by pretending to be passed out. He alleges Ward tried to wake him up before sliding his hands into the teen's shorts, and touching his buttocks and scrotum. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'The heavy breath and the [feeling of] skin on skin are the two things that have stuck with me about that moment,' the complainant said during his emotional testimony. 'I felt like I shrivelled up inside myself. It was the most awkward feeling ever.' Later, he said he had been lying facedown on the bed when Ward allegedly 'mounted' him without his permission and massaged his lower back. Despite asking Ward to get off and stop, the complainant alleged the MP continued while explaining he had masseur training. Upon reflection, he said he believed Ward's unwelcome touching contributed to his subsequent drug and alcohol abuse issues. Ward is also accused of sexually assaulting a drunk political staffer after a NSW Parliament House event in 2015. The man, who was 24 at the time but is now in his 30s, alleged Ward climbed into bed with him, groped his backside and sexually assaulted him despite him repeatedly saying 'no'. Ward was charged in 2022 over the claims, which he denies.
