Peter Falconio was shot dead by Bradley Murdoch, who got a life sentence for the crime
British national Peter Falconio, 28, was shot dead on a remote stretch of highway in Australia’s outback in 2001 but his body has never been found despite repeated searches.
It was thought that human remains found in the Australian outback could be linked to the man. Police in Australia discovered bone fragments close to the suspected murder site in Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory. But they went on to say that no remains had in fact been recovered at all.
Last year, Peter’s 75-year-old mother Joan appealed to “anyone with a conscience” to reveal where her son’s remains are.
Despites several searches for the British tourist’s body over the years, Northern Territory police were unable to track it down and remains found in 2003, 2004 and 2008 could not be linked to him either.
Who is Peter Falconio?
Peter Falconio was from Huddersfield, and graduated from the University of Brighton. The backpacker and his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, were on holiday in Australia. They were driving along a desert highway north of Alice Springs on July 14, 2001, when he was murdered.
What happened to Peter Falconio?
The couple were stopped by a man called Bradley Murdoch. He shot dead Mr Falconio and then bound Ms Lees’ wrist with cable ties in an effort to abduct her. However, she managed to run off into the bush, and hid for five hours while Murdoch hunted her with his dog. Eventually he gave up and drove off with Falconio’s body.
In a trial in Darwin in the Northern Territory, Murdoch was found guilty of Mr Falconio’s murder and given a life sentence, with a 28-year non-parole period.
He has never revealed where he dumped the body, and denied committing the murder. Peter’s family have been waiting for news of where his body could be ever since.
But recently detectives have denied that remains have been located. At first, reports said bone fragments had been located nearby to the suspected murder site in Alice Springs. However, Northern Territory police have said the reports are factually incorrect and that remains have not been recovered at all.
The force said: “No human remains have been located by Northern Territory police, and a search is not currently being conducted. Current media reports are factually incorrect.”
Ms Lees, now aged 48, lives in Huddersfield and remains in contact with the parents of her late boyfriend.
They have said that without a body to grieve over, they have never been able to obtain closure about the death of their son.
On what would have been his 50th birthday, last September, Joan Falconio said: “Our pain is always with us. His life stopped on a lonely road. Shot dead by cowardly Murdoch, who will not reveal what he did with him. We want to bring Peter home where he belongs.”
