Peter Falconio murderer’s cruel secret: The agony that remains after death of killer Bradley John Murdoch

Investigators haven’t given up hope that the body of a man slain in the Australian outback will be found, despite a notorious killer taking the location’s secret to the grave.

Bradley John Murdoch, 67, died from throat cancer on Tuesday, while under the watch of correctional officers, a month after being moved from jail to Alice Springs Hospital in the Northern Territory.

Murdoch was serving a life sentence for the one of Australia’s most infamous crimes, which he never admitted to — the murder of Peter Falconio and attempted kidnapping of Joanne Lees on the lonely Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in July 2001.

Peter Falconio’s father said he was rattled by the news of Murdoch’s death, which came a day after the 24th anniversary of the horrific crime.

Luciano Falconio said the weight of his son’s loss had never dissipated and the wounds would remain forever open due to his son’s body never being found.

“You harden with it,” he said.

Murdoch’s death has brought back memories for loved ones of the brutal murder that captured global attention and later inspired the horror film Wolf Creek.

The British couple had embarked on a world trip to six countries, arriving in Sydney in 2001 and setting off on road trip across Australia. On July 14 the pair were driving an orange Kombi camper between Darwin and Alice Springs on the Stuart Highway heading for Devil’s Marbles.

A white 4WD that had appeared to be following them when they departed a roadhouse at Barrow Creek pulled up alongside them with the driver gesturing for them to pull over.

Bradley John Murdoch told them their van might have an engine problem, luring Mr Falconio from the driver’s seat to investigate at the back of the vehicle.

Ms Lees moved to the driver’s seat to rev the engine for them. Hearing a gunshot she turned and saw Murdoch holding a gun. 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 and covering her head.

While Murdoch went back to his vehicle, Ms Lees managed to escape and hid in the bushes for several hours while Murdoch hunted for her with his dog.

Ms Lees managed to flag down a passing road train with the truck taking her to Barrow Creek.

The Alice Springs Police searching the scene found a pool of blood and the couple’s Kombi hidden in scrub land 80 metres from the road. Mr Falconio’s body could not be located.

The search for answers

Despite extensive searches ever since, Mr Falconio’s body was never found.

Murdoch maintained his innocence throughout the trial and twice tried to overturn the convictions, but two appeals were unsuccessful.

He 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.

“It is disappointing for the Falconio family that this case remains unresolved and they are still without the closure they deserve,” NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said.

In 2016, detectives said they believed Murdoch would never reveal the site where Mr Falconio’s body was hidden.

“He’ll always maintain his innocence; he’ll take that to his grave, I’d be very surprised if he didn’t,” lead investigator Colleen Gwynne said in 2016.

“He’s an extremely arrogant man, so he still feels like the system’s done him wrong.”

Ms Lees has also suffered from the lack of answers and trauma of that fateful day, later revealing that she never married or had children.

“Pete lost his life on that night but I lost mine too,” she said in a TV interview in 2017. “I’ll never be fully at peace if Pete’s not found, but I accept that is a possibility.”

Narcissistic control

Former officer Ms Gwynne said he was “not surprised but disappointed” that Murdoch never revealed the location of his victim’s remains.

“You mourn Peter today,” she told the station.

“Bradley’s prolonged refusal to co-operate with police and provide the information that we needed to locate Peter’s remains (resulted) in . . . prolonged family agony by the Falconio family.

“It’s a sad day for those reasons.”

Ms Gwynne said she “pretty much always said” Murdoch wouldn’t reveal the whereabouts of Mr Falconio’s remains, as it aligned with the killer’s “narcissistic” personality.

“The night that Joanne (Mr Falconio’s girlfriend Joanne Lees) escaped and we lost Peter, he (Murdoch) lost control. And as a result of that, he felt wronged, and he felt angry,” she said.

Ms Gwynne said Murdoch used his silence “to gain some control” and to “have that power over the Falconio family by not disclosing any details of what he did with Peter to allow us to narrow that search”.

Denial of responsibility

Others have raised doubts about Murdoch’s guilt, despite a unanimous jury decision at his 2005 trial.

Author Robin Bowles, who wrote the book Dead Centre after spending 60 hours interviewing Murdoch in prison, described him as “very courteous” and a “gentle giant”.

“I never had a lie from him,” she said.

In a statement Murdoch’s family paid tribute to the convicted killer and described the murder as “a crime for which he has always denied responsibility from his arrest until his death”.

The family said former lawyer Andrew Fraser had not acted on another appeal which Murdoch had placed his hopes on. Fraser had produced Murder In The Outback, a documentary which questioned the case in 2020. Mr Fraser died in 2023.

“Brad was a devoted father, father-in-law, and proud Poppy” who was “well-liked and respected by fellow inmates and correctional officers”, earning the nickname “Uncle” from fellow prisoners.