I quit the UK with my boyfriend for sunny Australia – I never imagined the horror that was awaiting us
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LIKE most young couples, Joanne Lees and her boyfriend Peter Falconio were eager to explore the world together.
The pair dreamt of leaving their home in Brighton for a sunnier, less pebbly beach in Sunny Australia - but Joanne could never imagine the horrors that would take place on the other side of the world.
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Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees in the Australian Outback in 2001 before his tragic end
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Joanne had no idea their trip of a lifetime would end in horror
Credit: PA
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Bradley Murdoch killed Peter and attempted to kidnap Joanne
Credit: PA
Joanne, 28, and Peter, 27, decided to get a working visa before heading to Sydney in 2001.
Joanne found a job at a bookstore and the pair spent five months exploring the city and its nightlife before buying a campervan to explore the rest of the country.
The pair planned to cruise from Sydney to Brisbane taking in the sites along the way.
But their lives were soon about to change forever after driving along Stuart Highway one cold July night.
The two travellers were flagged down by Bradley John Murdoch along a remote stretch of the highway near Barrow Creek.
Murdoch, a drug-runner and mechanic, drove alongside the couple to warn them sparks were coming out the back of their van.
As Peter stepped out to check the damage, Murdoch brutally shot him in the head while Joanne sat up front in the van none the wiser.
She said: "I heard him talking to the man, all seemed amicable, joking, I could hear him saying 'Cheers mate, thanks for stopping,' it just seemed all friendly."
At one point, she looked in the mirror and made eye contact with Murdoch, which left Joanne feeling uneasy, so she began to rev the engine in the hope Peter would hurry up.
"I heard a bang, I automatically thought 'Oh it's the exhaust.' I stopped running the engine, turned to look around the man was stood outside the driver's door," she reveals.
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Peter was shot in the head by Murdoch after checking the campervan
Grandparents, 46 & 47, found GUILTY of murdering boy, 2, after horrific 'targeted' abuse and 'casual cruelty'
"I saw the gun in his hand pointing at me."
He went on to bound her wrists with cable ties and forced her into his own van before taking her hairband and tying it around his gun as a trophy.
For me there was no choice. It was either run or be raped and killed.
Joanne Lees
"I just felt the isolation that I was completely alone. I was screaming for Pete to come and help me, he didn't return.
"Now I realise that Peter had already lost his life but I didn't want to accept that," she said.
The Outback Murders Timeline July 14, 2001: British backpacker Peter Falconio disappears and is presumed murdered on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek, Northern Territory, Australia. His girlfriend, Joanne Lees, is assaulted and abducted but manages to escape.
British backpacker Peter Falconio disappears and is presumed murdered on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek, Northern Territory, Australia. His girlfriend, Joanne Lees, is assaulted and abducted but manages to escape. November 1, 2001: Police interview Bradley John Murdoch in Broome.
Police interview Bradley John Murdoch in Broome. August 22, 2002: Bradley Murdoch is arrested and tried on an unrelated kidnap and assault charge by South Australia Police.
Bradley Murdoch is arrested and tried on an unrelated kidnap and assault charge by South Australia Police. November 2002: Joanne Lees identifies Murdoch from police photographs.
Joanne Lees identifies Murdoch from police photographs. 2003: Murdoch is arrested and charged with the murder of Peter Falconio and the assault and attempted kidnapping of Joanne Lees, following his acquittal for unrelated rape and abduction charges in South Australia. DNA evidence links him to the crime.
Murdoch is arrested and charged with the murder of Peter Falconio and the assault and attempted kidnapping of Joanne Lees, following his acquittal for unrelated rape and abduction charges in South Australia. DNA evidence links him to the crime. October 17, 2005: The trial of Bradley John Murdoch for the murder of Peter Falconio and the assault and attempted kidnapping of Joanne Lees begins in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in Darwin.
The trial of Bradley John Murdoch for the murder of Peter Falconio and the assault and attempted kidnapping of Joanne Lees begins in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in Darwin. December 13, 2005: Bradley John Murdoch is found guilty of Peter Falconio's murder and the assault and attempted kidnapping of Joanne Lees. He is sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 28 years.
Bradley John Murdoch is found guilty of Peter Falconio's murder and the assault and attempted kidnapping of Joanne Lees. He is sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 28 years. June 24, 2025: It is announced Murdoch has been released from prison into palliative care at Alice Springs Hospital due to terminal throat cancer.
It is announced Murdoch has been released from prison into palliative care at Alice Springs Hospital due to terminal throat cancer. July 15, 2025: Bradley John Murdoch dies at the age of 67, without ever revealing the location of Peter Falconio's remains.
At some point, Murdoch went back to the couple's van and Joanne seized her chance to escape and ran into the outback.
There, she waited for several hours, hiding in a salt bush, praying Murdoch and his dog wouldn't sniff her out.
"For me, there was no choice. It was either run or be raped and killed," she told 60 Minutes.
Thankfully, Murdoch was unable to find her and she eventually was able to flag down a road train to get help.
Joanne was taken to the police, where she was able to describe Murdoch's appearance and his car, which the police were later able to track down thanks to CCTV.
His DNA was then tested against the cable tie handcuffs he made Joanne and it was a match.
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Joanne Lees went back to the location to try and find Peter's body
Life Now
He was officially charged for the murder of Peter and attempted kidnapping of Joanne in 2005 and sentenced to life in prison.
Earlier this week, Murdoch died while in hospital from throat cancer at the age of 67.
While many won't be saddened by the news of his death, grief is felt as Peter's family has never been able to properly say goodbye.
Despite spending 24 years in prison, Murdoch has never confessed to where he put Peter's body, which still remains unfound.
Last month, police offered a reward of £400,000 for information on the murdered backpacker.
Joanne, who has never forgotten about Peter, went back to the Australian outback in 2017 to help bring him home.
"The important thing is for me to come here and at least try," she said.
"I loved his smile, his sense of adventure. And even though you know he only had a short life and died at the age of 28... he made the most of it."
Joanne, now 51, lives in West Yorkshire and works as a social worker.
Since her return to the outback to try and find Peter in 2017 she has stayed out of the media.
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Bradley Murdoch died in hospital earlier this week without revealing where Peter's remains are
Credit: EPA
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