Bradley Murdoch dies 24 years after murdering Peter Falconio
Bradley John Murdoch was arrested in 2003 by police outside an Adelaide courthouse. (Rob Hutchison: AAP)
In short:
Bradley John Murdoch, killer of British backpacker Peter Falconio, has died overnight in the palliative care unit of Alice Springs Hospital.
Murdoch, who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder in 2005, has never revealed the location of Mr Falconio's body.
What's next?
Murdoch's death in custody will be subject to a mandatory coronial inquest.
Notorious outback killer Bradley John Murdoch has died overnight in the palliative care unit of Alice Springs Hospital, taking key information about his murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio to his grave.
Murdoch was serving a life prison sentence for the murder of Mr Falconio near the remote Northern Territory town of Barrow Creek on July 14, 2001.
The 67-year-old convicted murderer was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019 and was being treated at Alice Springs Hospital.
In a statement, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said: "It is disappointing for the Falconio family that this case remains unresolved and they are still without the closure they deserve.
"We remind the public that the reward for information relating to the disappearance of Peter Falconio has been recently increased."
Murdoch was born in the small West Australian town of Northampton in 1958.
His life before prison involved working as a mechanic, driving trucks and running drugs across outback Australia.
He was 43 when he killed Mr Falconio.
In 2001, Mr Falconio and his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, were exploring Central Australia together in what was supposed to be a memorable outback holiday.
Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio during their trip to Australia. (AAP)
The British tourists were travelling in a Kombi van at night along the Stuart Highway, about 10 kilometres north of Barrow Creek, when Murdoch gestured for them to pull over from his ute.
Soon after Mr Falconio hopped out of the driver's seat to talk to Murdoch, a gunshot was heard.
The black electrical cable handcuffs Murdoch used to bind Joanne Lees's hands behind her back. (Stringer: Reuters)
Murdoch then assaulted Ms Lees, bound her wrists with cable ties and electrical tape and forced her into his vehicle.
Ms Lees somehow managed to escape into nearby bushland, and Murdoch drove off into the darkness.
Mr Falconio was never seen again.
The Kombi van belonging to Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio. (David Gerhaty: Reuters)
The 28-year-old's mysterious death ignited a wave of international media attention, partly inspiring the 2005 Australian horror film Wolf Creek.
Mr Falconio's family and Ms Lees were thrust into the spotlight in both Australia and the United Kingdom, with Ms Lees subjected to particularly intense scrutiny.
Twenty-four years after their son disappeared, parents Joan and Luciano Falconio still do not know what happened to his remains.
Murdoch never revealed the location of the young man's body.
An undated photo of Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees that was shown during the trial at the Supreme Court in Darwin. (AAP)
Catching a killer
During the early months of the police investigation, when hundreds of suspects were still being treated as persons of interest, there was a major breakthrough — a man reported he knew who did it.
He gave the name of Bradley John Murdoch.
Police moved quickly and took a DNA sample from Murdoch, who had been arrested in South Australia over allegations he abducted and raped a 12-year-old girl and her mother.
The Crown case rested on Ms Lees's ability to identify Murdoch from photographs, as well as DNA evidence linking him to the crime using a blood sample taken from the scene.
A police mugshot of Bradley John Murdoch. (Getty Images: Northern Territory Police)
The item that ultimately condemned Murdoch was an elastic hair tie found in his ute that belonged to Ms Lees.
Former NT police officer Colleen Gwynne, who was the lead investigator in the Falconio case, said an eagle-eyed police officer in her team had noticed the hair tie wrapped around Murdoch's holster while trawling through his belongings.
Ms Gwynne told the ABC in 2016 that Murdoch "probably didn't know how significant the hair tie was", and suggested he kept it as a "trophy".
Colleen Gwynne was the lead investigator on the Peter Falconio case. (Supplied)
In 2005, Murdoch was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Mr Falconio and attempted kidnapping of Ms Lees, with a non-parole period of 28 years.
The court heard Murdoch had put Mr Falconio's body into his ute before dumping it somewhere between Alice Springs and Broome.
During sentencing, Chief Justice Brian Martin described Murdoch's offending as "nothing short of cowardly in the extreme".
He said Murdoch's prospects of rehabilitation were low given his "complete lack of remorse" and prior offending.
Murdoch was acquitted of the rape allegations in South Australia in 2003, immediately before police arrested and charged him over the Falconio case.
He had also served time in jail in WA in the mid-1990s for shooting at a crowd of Aboriginal football fans celebrating a victory in Fitzroy Crossing.
Bradley John Murdoch being taken to the Darwin police watch house to be formally charged with murder. (AAP)
During his two decades behind bars, Murdoch always maintained his innocence.
He appealed to overturn his convictions twice, but was unsuccessful.
In 2016, the NT government introduced "no body, no parole" laws with the aim of eliciting a confession from Murdoch by removing his right to parole in 2032.
It did not work.
This year, NT Police launched a fresh public appeal by offering a new reward of $500,000 for information on Mr Falconio's remains.
Acting Commander Mark Grieve from NT Police's Crime and Intelligence Command previously stated in June that police had been speaking to Murdoch.
"On all occasions, he's chosen not to positively engage with police," he said.
Murdoch was transferred to the Alice Springs Correctional Centre in 2022, after previously being housed at Darwin's Holtze prison.
His death in custody will be subject to a mandatory coronial inquest.