‘Outback killer’ Bradley John Murdoch dies aged 67 taking secrets of Brit Peter Falconio’s murder to the grave
NOTORIOUS ‘Outback killer’ John Bradley Murdoch has died at the age of 67.
The disturbed former drug smuggler shot dead British backpacker Peter Falconio, 28, nearly 24 years ago – with his body still yet to be found.
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Falconio’s death shocked the globe after several grisly details emerged around how Murdoch pulled off the fatal attack.
He is said to have flagged down a van driven by the young Brit before shooting him in the head in front of his girlfriend Joanne Lees.
Murdoch would then tie up the terrified woman with cable ties and try to abduct her.
Ms Lees miraculously managed to escape and hid in a bush for five hours in the boiling Outback.
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She was later able to help convict Murdoch by identifying him as the murderer.
But the killer has always maintained his innocence.
He claims this is why he has never revealed where Falconio’s body is as he wasn’t involved.
Prosecutors have always said Murdoch is the only suspect and have denied his appeals on several occasions due to the evidence against him.
Murdoch was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019 and had been transferred to a palliative care unit from Alice Springs Correctional Centre in Northern Territory, Australia, last month.
The Northern Territory Department of Corrections confirmed that Murdoch died in hospital.
A spokesperson said: “I can confirm that Bradley Murdoch passed away last night in the palliative care unit at Alice Springs Hospital.
“The death will be subject to investigation by the Northern Territory Coroner.”
Depraved Murdoch was described as being “just about dead” in June.
He was convicted of Peter’s murder in 2005 and was serving a life sentence for the heinous crime.
Peter and girlfriend Joanne were on a road trip driving a VW Kombi van through the Aussie outback to Darwin in July 2001.
But they were flagged down by 43-year-old drug mule Murdoch – who was driving a van and told them he had a problem with the exhaust.
Murdoch then shot Falconio in the head before attacking Joanne and restraining her with cable ties in his car.
Peter didn’t survive but Joanne managed to escape and hide in nearby bushes for five hours – before waving down a passing truck for help.
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She later said: “It was either run, or be raped and killed.”
Joanne even became a prime suspect in her boyfriend’s murder after claims she appeared “emotionless” after the incident.
But it was later revealed she had taken the sedative Valium to help her handle her horror ordeal.
It wasn’t until four years later in 2005 that a tip-off led to the arrest of the drug runner and Joanne was able to help identify him as the killer.
Peter’s body was never found, and despite police launching a fresh appeal for information in 2021, it did not lead them to finding the backpacker’s remains.
Police even doubled the reward for information leading to the body after his serious health update was announced.
News surfaced on February 17, 2023, that police had found some bones near Alice Springs that were being tested to see if they were the remains of Peter Falconio.
The reports were rubbished with authorities stating: “No human remains have been located by Northern Territory Police, and a search is not currently being conducted.
“Current media reports are factually incorrect.”
Sick Murdoch was born on February 29, 1958.
He was a drug smuggler who served 15 months for shooting at people celebrating at an Australian rules football match in 1995.
Eight years later he was charged with seven counts of abduction and rape, but later acquitted.
The same year he was charged with Falconio’s murder.
He had always protested his innocence and said he couldn’t reveal where Falconio’s body is because he was never there.
The former mechanic, who once drove road trains across the Australian Outback, lost multiple appeals and was denied special leave to appeal to the High Court in 2007.
He was handed a life sentence with a 28-year non-parole period, due to expire in 2032.
But under the Northern Territory’s tough “no body, no release” laws, he was never going to walk free unless he gave up the location of Peter’s remains.
Peter Falconio case timeline
PETER Falconio was shot dead in the Australian outback while travelling with girlfriend Joanne Lees in July 2001.
He was 28 years old when he was tragically shot by a man who flagged down the van he was driving.
The man was 43-year-old drug smuggler Bradley John Murdoch.
Murdoch shot Falconio in the head before bundling Lees into his car and binding her with cable ties.
She managed to escape and hide in bushes for five hours, before she ran into the road and waved down a passing truck.
Lees soon became a prime suspect in her boyfriend’s murder after claims she appeared “emotionless” after the incident.
But it was later revealed she had taken the sedative Valium to help her handle her horror ordeal.
Police were never able to locate Falconio’s remains.
Reports in February 2023 detailed that police had found some bones near Alice Springs that were being tested to see if they were the remains of Peter Falconio.
The reports were later rubbished with authorities stating: “No human remains have been located by Northern Territory Police, and a search is not currently being conducted.”
Murdoch had launched several appeals against his conviction, but he remained in prison in the Northern Territory until his death.
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