Killer Bradley Murdoch takes his secrets of Peter Falconio's outback murder to his grave

The man convicted of murdering backpacker Peter Falconio has died (Image: Getty)

Bradley Murdoch, the Australian man convicted of murdering 28 year old Yorkshire born backpacker Peter Falconio in 2001, has died at the age of 67 while serving a life sentence in prison. 

Murdoch had never revealed the location of Falconio's body.

The grisly crime took place in July 2001, when Mr Falconio was shot dead on a remote stretch of highway near the Northern Territory town of Barrow Creek. He had been exploring Australia with his girlfriend Joanne Lees, at the time. 

After being convicted of the murder back in 2005, Murdoch had been detained at a prison in Alice Springs, in Australia’s Northern Territory.

It is understood that Murdoch had been treated at a local hospital inn event weeks for terminal throat cancer, with the Northern Territory Department of Corrections confirming the death of a man in custody. He had been exploring Australia with his girlfriend Joanne Lees, at the time. 

As well as being convicted for murder, Murdoch was also convicted of the attempted kidnap and assault of Ms Lees, who managed to escape the terrifying ordeal by hiding in the outback for several hours until she could signal for help. 

Murdoch was aged 43 at the time of the crimes, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Despite his incarceration, he never revealed the location of Peter’s body prompting Australian authorities to announce a reward of up to A$500,000 (£240,000) for information leading to their discovery just last month. 

Acting Commander Mark Grieve of Northern Territory Police told a press conference in late June: "Police still hold out hope that someone might be able to provide some vital information to assist in this search."

"We recognise the passage of time that has transpired but it is never to late to reach out and start that conversation with police," Grieve said.

Peter and Joanne had been exploring Australia in a campervan when they were attacked (Image: Getty)

What happened to Peter Falconio?

Yorkshire-born Falconio disappeared on July 14, 2001 on a remote part of the Stuart Highway in Australia.

He had been travelling around Australia with his girlfriend Joanne Lees in a campervan in the time before his disappearance.

Much of what is known about what happened to him comes from Lees’ testimony told in court and in her book No Turning Back.

She explained how the pair had been travelling to Darwin in their campervan when they were signalled over by a driver.

However, when Falconio got out of the car he was shot while Lees was tied up and abducted.

Bradley Murdoch was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder, and Peter's body was never found (Image: Getty)

Lees managed to escape and hid from her abductor in the bushes before she was able to hail down a passing truck, where truck driver Vince Miller cut her restraints and phoned the local police.

The Alice Springs Police arrived in the morning and searched for evidence of Falconio’s murder. During their investigation, they found a dirt-covered blood pool and the couple’s van but Falconio’s body was never found.

The Australian police did lead an exhaustive investigation and four years after the crime, Bradley Murdoch was put on trial. He was tried and found guilty by a jury with much of his conviction resting on his DNA matching this on Lees’ T-shirt.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 28 years.