Dad of backpacker murdered in Australian outback feels ‘no sadness’ over killer’s death
The father of a British backpacker who was murdered in the Australian outback has said he wished the killer had ‘left something’ to help him find his son’s remains.
Peter Falconio was 28 when he was murdered in 2001 while backpacking in the Northern Territory of Australia with his girlfriend Joanne Lees.
The couple were attacked after being ambushed in their campervan on a remote highway.
Four years later, Bradley John Murdoch was found guilty of murdering Peter, as well as assaulting Joanne, and was sentenced to life in prison.
But he pleaded not guilty during his trial, and has maintained his innocence ever since, even appealing against his conviction twice.
Critically, Murdoch has never revealed where he dumped Peter’s body.
When it became clear last month that he was dying of throat cancer, Australian police spoke with Murdoch several times and appealed to the public for any information about the location of Peter’s remains.
They even doubled their previous potential reward to AU$500,000 (£240,000) – but despite this, Murdoch died earlier this week and took his secrets to the grave.
A police spokesperson said yesterday: ‘It is deeply regrettable that Murdoch has died without, as far as we are aware, ever disclosing the location of Peter Falconio’s remains.
‘His silence has denied the Falconio family the closure they have so long deserved.’
And now Luciano Falconio, Peter’s father, has spoken out about this lack of closure and said the family prefers not to think about their son’s murderer.
The dad, now aged 83, told MailOnline: ‘He’s not a good person. He’s cruel, he’s a coward and we feel no sadness for him.
‘He should have admitted his crime. He is the only one who knows where my son is.
‘I don’t think he shared anything with Australian police but he may have told someone – I really hope he has.
‘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.’
While he doesn’t ‘wish anybody dead’, Luciano said he wished Murdoch had left something or made a deathbed confession to help him find Peter’s remains and bring him home.
What happened to Peter Falconio?
On July 14, 2001, Peter and Joanne were driving in a campervan about 190 miles north of Alice Springs when Murdoch pulled up beside them on the highway and urged them to pull over.
He claimed to have seen sparks coming from their van – but when Peter got out to inspect the vehicle, Murdoch shot him in the head.
He then forced Joanne into his pick-up truck, tying her wrists with cable ties and putting a sack over her head.
Fearing she would be raped or killed, she managed to escape Murdoch’s car and hid in the bush for five hours until flagging down a passing truck for help.
During the trial, prosecutors said Murdoch had likely disposed of Peter’s body somewhere in the vast 1,200mile stretch of outback between Alice Springs and Broome.
Murdoch wouldn’t have been eligible for parole until 2033, but a new ‘no body, no parole’ law means he wouldn’t be released as long as he refused to reveal the location of Peter’s body.
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