Latest news with #FalconioFamily
News.com.au
7 hours ago
- News.com.au
Family of outback killer Bradley John Murdoch hold private funeral service
The family of outback killer Bradley John Murdoch has held a private funeral service to farewell the man responsible for one of Australia's most notorious crimes. Murdoch, who was serving a life sentence for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio in 2001, died on July 15. He had been diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019. The 67-year-old never revealed where Mr Falconio had been buried. In a private ceremony for family and friends, Murdoch was cremated and his ashes scattered at an 'undisclosed location', 7News reported on Thursday. After his death, his family remembered him as a devoted family man. 'To many, Bradley Murdoch is known only for the events that led to his conviction in 2005 for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio, a crime for which he has always denied responsibility from his arrest until his death,' their statement to the media said. 'But to those who truly knew him, he was much more than the headlines. 'Brad was a devoted father, father-in-law, and proud Poppy who never missed a chance to brag about his grandchildren. He was a beloved brother, uncle, and friends.' Mr Falconio's parents Joan and Luciano said they still held out hope their son's remains would be found. 'Upon hearing that Bradley John Murdoch had died our first feeling was of relief, it's like a weight that's been lifted. 'We are only forced to think about him now that he's died, we don't want to let him ruin our lives more than he already has. 'The awful thing is our family's future with Peter was cruelly taken away. 'Today we instead focus on the three children we have left and our grandchildren.' Murdoch was convicted of murdering Mr Falconio on July 14, 2001. Mr Falconio had been travelling with his girlfriend Joanne Lees in a Kombi van along the Sturt Highway, north of Barrow Creek between Darwin and Alice Springs, when another car stopped alongside them and motioned to them to pull over. When the Kombi van pulled over, Murdoch shot Mr Falconio in the head. Murdoch then tried to kidnap Ms Lees, pulling her out of the van and binding her wrists with cable ties before forcing her in the back of his vehicle. While Murdoch went back to his vehicle, Ms Lees managed to escape and hid in the bushes for several hours before she flagged down another driver. Murdoch was found guilty of murder in December 2005 and was sentenced to life in jail with a non-parole period of 28 years. He maintained his innocence throughout the trial and twice tried to overturn the convictions, but both attempts were unsuccessful. Murdoch would have been eligible for parole in 2032, but the NT's introduction of 'no body, no parole' laws in 2016 meant he would only have been released if he revealed the location of Mr Falconio's body. In a statement released after his death, the NT Police Force said it remained committed to 'resolving this final piece of the investigation'. 'It is deeply regrettable that Murdoch has died without, as far as we are aware, ever disclosing the location of Peter Falconio's remains,' the statement read. 'His silence has denied the Falconio family the closure they have so long deserved. 'We continue to appeal to anyone who may have information that could lead us to Peter Falconio's remains to come forward, no matter how small the detail may seem.'
BBC News
17-07-2025
- BBC News
Peter Falconio: 'Everyone knows who he is, he will never be forgotten'
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 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 bench - dedicated to "the memory of our son" - is sited outside the business his family used to run and not far from the Falconio offers a place to sit and remember Peter, but it also offers a tangible memorial to a young man whose body has never been 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 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 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.
The Sun
16-07-2025
- The Sun
Inside Peter Falconio murder mystery after killer's death as Brit's parents reveal hope £250k reward will help find body
FOR an agonising 24 years, Peter Falconio's elderly parents have clung to the hope that his killer might finally reveal where their son's body is hidden. But when monster Bradley Murdoch, 67, died in a prison hospital this week, so too did any chance of him admitting what he did with their beloved boy's remains. 10 10 Heartbroken Luciano and Joan Falconio just want to lay Peter to rest back home in Huddersfield, West Yorks, where he belongs. Instead, they bear the pain of knowing he is likely buried in an unknown spot, amid a 1,200 square mile area of Australia's vast and largely uncharted Outback. Speaking from their home yesterday following Murdoch's death from throat cancer, Luciano, 83, who has three other sons, said: 'He's gone now. "I don't feel any sadness or hate, I am a generous person. But he should have admitted his crime. 'He is the only one who knows where my son is. 'I don't think he will have shared anything with police, but he may have told someone. I really hope so.' Luciano added: 'I am in pain for my wife. I hope I find my son, for both of us. We need an end while we are still here.' Finding Peter's body would not only help bring peace to his parents. It would also end two decades of speculation about his murder. Ever since his girlfriend Joanne Lees told police in Australia's Northern Territory how she was tied up after Peter, 28, was shot in the head on the Stuart Highway near remote Barrow Creek in 2001, this case has generated controversy. 'Weight's been lifted' The calm demeanour of Joanne, now 51, when she spoke to officers led some people to suspect she had somehow been involved in her boyfriend's death. Joanne Lees breaks down reliving her escape from Peter Falconio's killer And there were numerous fake 'sightings' of Peter in the wake of his killing that only increased the pain for his family. Questions were raised about what motive Murdoch could possibly have had for shooting a stranger dead at point blank range. Plus, there were discrepancies in Joanne's account of her terrifying ordeal at the killer's hands. Murdoch went to his grave maintaining he was innocent. And if you were to believe the glowing tribute from his family last night, you would think he was a saint. They described him as a 'gentle giant with a heart of gold' who 'earned the affectionate title of uncle from many indigenous prisoners.' That would be the same Bradley Murdoch who had a tattoo of an Aboriginal man hanging from a noose and was convicted of shooting at people celebrating at an Australian rules football match in 1995. Police, prosecutors, the jury, Peter's parents and many others who had the misfortune of crossing paths with Murdoch have no doubt that he was guilty of the British man's slaying, regardless of what he claimed. Luciano and Joan Falconio made their feelings clear when they said last night: 'Upon hearing that Bradley John Murdoch had died, our first feeling was of relief. It's like a weight that's been lifted.' Born in Geraldton, north of Perth, Murdoch worked as a mechanic in Broome on the northern coast of Western Australia. Peter and Joanne, who had been touring Australia in a VW Kombi campervan, had the misfortune of being on the same road as Murdoch He was a self-confessed drug smuggler who would put amphetamines into his tea to keep him awake as he transported cannabis long distances across Australia — a move which reportedly made him increasingly paranoid. In 2003, he was cleared of raping a 12-year-old girl, who prosecutors had claimed he abducted with her mother 'for insurance' as cops probing Peter Falconio's murder closed in. Justice for the killing finally caught up with him in 2005. Peter and Joanne, who had been touring Australia in a VW Kombi campervan, had the misfortune of being on the same road as Murdoch north of Alice Springs on July 14, 2001. He flagged Peter down and told him there were sparks coming from the old vehicle, before shooting him dead. 10 10 He tied Joanne up at gunpoint and bundled her into his truck. But she was able to escape into the pitch black Outback, hiding for almost five hours until she flagged down a passing vehicle. Snipers on rooftops Senior Sergeant Erica Gibson, the first police officer to speak to Joanne about the terrifying ordeal, described her as 'absolutely shell-shocked' but not 'hysterical or overtly emotional'. She said that victims 'express their trauma and emotion in a different way, so it wasn't for me to judge how she reacted'. Joanne's appearance at a press conference about the attacks, at which she wore a tight-fitting Cheeky Monkey T-shirt, led some people to suggest she was not really mourning. Her version of events was not helped by a couple of shopkeepers claiming they had seen Peter buy a Mars bar a week after the murder. But Joanne's description of the killer matched that of Murdoch and his white Toyota. This placed him on a list of 100 suspects and made the police nervous when they went to arrest him in 2002 for the alleged rape of the 12- year-old. They considered him to be so dangerous that they placed snipers on rooftops and under vehicles with their rifles trained on the car park of a Woolworths where Murdoch was shopping in Port Augusta. In the back of the fiend's Toyota pick-up, the police found handcuffs made from cable ties, a pistol, gloves, a shotgun, crossbow and a rifle with a telescopic sight. He was found not guilty of the alleged rape, but detectives had much better evidence to link him to Peter's murder. At his trial in 2005, the jury heard how Murdoch's DNA was found on Joanne's T-shirt. CCTV footage also showed he had been at Alice Springs prior to Peter's murder, and other witnesses put him in the area of the crime. His defence tried to cast doubt by claiming Joanne had slept with another man a few months prior to the killing. But she insisted: 'I did love Pete with all my heart and, when that happened, I did overstep the boundaries of friendship, but it made me love Pete even more and value what we did have.' The jury took just eight hours to find Murdoch guilty, and he was sentenced to at least 28 years in prison. A year later, Joanne published a book titled No Turning Back, in which she gave her account of the traumatic events. She said in an interview with The Times: 'Others have their opinions about that night, about what happened, about what I did or didn't do. 'But they weren't there. They can never know what I saw, the terror I felt, or what Pete and I meant to each other.'' The night that Joanne escaped and we lost Peter, [Murdoch] lost control and as a result of that he felt wronged and angry. To gain some control was to never co-operate and have that power over the Falconio family. Colleen Gwynne, Lead Investigator It didn't stop the doubters. A four-part Channel 4 documentary titled Murder In The Outback: The Falconio And Lees Mystery questioned Murdoch's conviction in 2020. It repeated claims Peter may be alive. 'Future taken away' And it revealed that truck driver Vince Millar, who found Joanne by the side of the road, had seen a red car in the vicinity. He speculated that Peter's body might have been in this unidentified vehicle. 10 10 10 None of this has changed the mind of the detectives who knew Murdoch. The lead investigator in the case, Colleen Gwynne, said last night that she had suspected the killer would take his secrets to the grave. She added: 'I'm not surprised, just disappointed. 'I always said I don't think he'll ever speak to police. 'The night that Joanne escaped and we lost Peter, he lost control and felt wronged and angry. 'To gain some control was to never co-operate and have that power over the Falconio family.' There is still a £243,650 reward available to anyone with information that leads to the discovery of Peter's body. It is possible that Murdoch bragged to a friend or cellmate — or that a former associate might have an idea where he buried the remains. The police said in a statement: 'The Northern Territory Police Force remains committed to resolving this final piece of the investigation. "We continue to appeal to anyone who may have information that could lead us to Peter Falconio's remains to come forward, no matter how small the detail may seem.' Peter is not the only person to have gone missing in the Outback. And he may not have been Murdoch's only victim. Today, though, Luciano and Joan want to forget about the killer, saying: 'We are only forced to think about him now that he's died. 'We don't want to let him ruin our lives more than he already has. 'The awful thing is, our family's future with Peter was cruelly taken away. 'Today we instead focus on the three children we have left and our grandchildren.' 10
