The highway horror that still haunts Australia | Forensic Files

I love a sunburnt country a land of sweeping plains of ragged mountain ranges of droughts and flooding rains I
love her Far Horizons I love her jewel see her beauty and her terror the wide brown land for me the desert roads of
the Northern Territory are as long as they are desolate if you stand still your own heartbeat is the loudest sound
you'll hear [Music] Alice Springs it's almost equal distance between Darwin and Adelaide and is close
to the very center of Australia it is the third largest town in the Northern Territory with a population of just
under 30,000 people it welcomes up to four hundred and seventy five thousand visitors each year which is 1,300 new
tourists every day tourists are drawn to Alice Springs as it is the closest Big Town to uluru also known as Ayers Rock
uluru is the single sandstone rock the city out of the ground 450 kilometres 280 miles southwest of Alice Springs it
is a sacred holy place for the indigenous Aboriginal people in the area and carries great spiritual meaning The
Rock's most famous feature is the way it appears to change color at different times of the day most notably when it
glows red at dawn and sunset listed as a World Heritage Site all the roof sits at
an enormous 348 metres high and has a girth of 9.4 kilometres or five point eight miles there is two and a half
kilometres or one and a half miles worth of rock that sits beneath the surface that's a mesmerizing and some times a
year you place most travellers tend to fly into Alice Springs and hire cars and camp events for the six-hour drive
Tallulah Ruth the closest campground is 20 kilometres 12 miles away many stretches of Road
have no services you will give an advice at the rental car depot to fill up where
you can't and to carry provisions at all times maps can be misleading and distances between two places can be much
longer than they seem the vast stretches of horizon and flat experiences of desert make things seem a
lot closer than they really are and this mixed with the crisp clarity of the air
means you can literally see for hundreds of quiet desolate miles more adventurous
travelers make their way by Road during their driving tour of Australia often driving north from Adelaide after coming
from Australia's East Coast or more uncommonly across the Nullarbor plain about a twenty eight hour drive from
Perth the Northern Territory covers nearly one and a half million square kilometers or
just over five hundred and twenty thousand square miles of red dry hot dusty and mostly impenetrable desert in
the north-central part of the country most of the residents territory ins as they are known live in the cities of
Darwin Palmerston Alice Springs Catherine Mullen boy and Tennant Creek with small numbers living in more remote
communities the Australian outback is one of the least populated places on earth this part of Australia is one of
the driest flattest most arid and least hospitable places on the planet temperatures vary dramatically with the
average maximum temperatures in summer of 36 degrees Celsius ninety six point one degrees Fahrenheit but temperatures
can easily reach forty-five degrees Celsius or 113 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter months of June July and
August the plummets to an average of five point one degrees Celsius forty one point two degrees Fahrenheit and that
not can easily drop to minus five degrees Celsius twenty-three farinelli there are basic
rules for driving in parts of the Australian desert you need to have a suitable vehicle carry enough water and
enough petrol have a map tell somebody what react you are taking and when you expect arrive at your destination and
have a two-way radio because a lot of the area is without mobile phone coverage if you don't follow these rules
you risk death this trailing desert has killed more than a few people over the years
there is a single highway that links southern Australia directly north through our springs to darwin known to
locals simply as the track the track is the stuart highway an almost straight road cutting through the red barren
desert for 2834 kilometres 1761 miles from top to bottom there are only 17 junctions in total up until 2007 the
roads of the Northern Territory actually had no speed limit restrictions the Stuart Highway is mainly used for
transporting goods from one end of Australia to the other most commonly fuel mineral ores and cattle but also
food and other goods you can drive an entire day on some remote stretches without seeing another vehicle if you do
happen to see another vehicle it is likely to be an infamous Road train these enormous trucks which can be over
50 metres long and weigh in at 200 tonnes plough up and down the Stuart Highway at speeds so great the tourists
are reminded in their guidebooks of the dangers of getting in the way of these monsters of the road the thrill of the
open road and the sheer experience of the hot desert is an exciting draw card for many but for those used to beach
city's busy beaches or in this case the relentless rain and dark Liautaud skies of England driving from Adelaide to
Darwin was the thrill of a lifetime and unlike anything they had experienced before on the 6th of October 1958 in the
port town of Geraldton Western Australia 424 kilometres 263 miles north of Perth
Colin and Nancy Murdoch brought a son into the world already in their 40s with two sons of eleven and fourteen years a
new baby was a shock their third son Bradley John Murdoch was brought back to their humble three-bedroom fibro house
52 kilometers north of Geraldton to their hometown of Northampton a small rural community once thriving a hundred
and fifty years before as Australia's first iron ore mine but the mine eventually ran dry and the community
came to rely on wheat farming as its main source of income agriculture in dry areas like Western
Australia is risky when the rain is good the wheat production thrived but the many times of drought saw poor crops
which resulted in hard times for the area [Music] Bradley Murdock spent his youth in the
cliquey town that was well known for its resistance to change Northampton had three pubs and three
churches and often the town would be closed by lunchtime Murdock's parents colon and Nancy were liked in the area
they were not wealthy but : no mechanic was never sure to work it was a quiet man who the community came to rely on
for fixing almost anything Nancy was the only hairdresser in town and would convert her kitchen and bathroom into
the local salon most days though a firm but fair but after already bringing up two teenage boys they would find
bringing up another son more difficult the eldest brothers Robert and Gary were close they didn't have a lot of time for
their younger brother and Bradley Murdoch wouldn't receive much attention Robert was born with only one ear and
was a sickly kid he spent his whole childhood in and out of hospital and had many operations
Bradley Murdock became a bit of a nuisance and started to rebel he would be described as having a false sense of
bravado he craved attention was difficult to control was defiant disengaged and felt like any outsider
even within his own family he knew from an early age he had to be tough to survive and he wasn't going to take any
[ __ ] from anyone it was a bully and would often get into fights at 12 years old and increasingly harder to control :
and Nancy decided to move to Perth and give Murdoch a fresh start he didn't cope well he didn't fit in
rebelled further and started getting involved with bogies in 1973 at 15 years old he left school and made his way back
up to Geraldton and Northampton this time with the gang influence he came to be known for his involvement with the
alcohol drugs and guns not long after this move his brother Robert after a lifetime of illness and operations died
and Bradley Murdoch became even more bitter he started to have brushes with the law and in the late 70s he faced his
first firearms offences things got worse for Murdoch when in 1980 at 21 years of
age he received a suspended sentence for death by dangerous driving after he hit
and killed a motorcyclist he was at a crossroads and he made the move to alberni the southernmost tip of Western
Australia an isolated and remote Harbor town the oldest town in the state Albany
is known for its wild and unpredictable weather there was lots of work there for
a skilled mechanic like Murdoch as a child he had watched every single thing his father did fixing cars and without
even realizing it he had managed to become a more than confident mechanic himself
he enjoyed the transient life people didn't ask questions in these sorts of terms and he could be left alone in 1980
while visiting his brother Gary and Gary's wife PMR he met dying in Pamela's niece a spark flew that day and within a
year Diane had moved in with Murdoch on the outskirts of Perth Barnea Murdoch had his own trucking business he used
his own truck and had contracts the bigger hauling companies however the business didn't do too well and he ended
up filing for bankruptcy in 1983 Murdoch and Diane were married on the 14th of July 1984 they had a son in 1986 but
soon after their son was born their relationship was over Murdoch had fallen back in with the bikee crowd he
started to disappear for days on end and found it difficult to be a good husband
and father when their son was 18 months old Murdoch he'd died in hard it's unknown
whether it really was the first time but that day Diane left with their son and was glad to see the back of Murdoch
forever they never had any contact again there was no surprise Murdoch didn't do well
with routines and found no thrills in the life of the family men a member of a bikie gang offered Murdoch
a job driving road trains up north Murdoch was a model employee who never said no to work and made him feel strong
and powerful a road warrior always with a gun and he saw it it's necessary to have a gun if what you're carrying is
very important and at was large amounts of cannabis in fed amines and cash were driven all over the country alongside
the legal roads some trucks character it was easy money and if there was a lot of
it Murdoch could drive 16-hour shifts a day easily and if something went wrong with
the truck it was also the right person to fix it Murdoch had gone almost 15 years without a brush with the law he
was a fairly unnoticed figure in the vast experience of the Australian outback he kept his head down and his
eye on the money he was able to earn driving back and forth across the country he was fuelled by alcohol and
drugs on those long journeys speed to keep him awake for sometimes days at a time and cannabis for when he wanted to
get to sleep Murdoch was up and down and when he wanted to escape he was able to
take his truck into the outback and go camping far away from anyone else by 1995 Murdoch was living in the remote
Kimberley region of fitzroy crossing around 400 kilometers or 248 miles inland from Broome Western Australia
there was a higher demand for good mechanics where he lived on Brooking Springs a large cattle station there was
a good location for picking up driving jobs - with its proximity to Bru Murdoch didn't much like the local area it was
known to regularly reach temperatures in the high 40 degrees Celsius and he was becoming increasingly racist towards the
indigenous locals there were rumours of the KKK having members in the area although no one would admit it the
non-indigenous community rarely saw eye to eye with the indigenous community Bradley Murdoch didn't exactly hide his
high level of racism he had a tattoo on his left arm of an Aboriginal man hanging from a noose over a fire with
the initials KKK from the time of British settlement Australian law considered all Australian
land as terra nullius meaning nobody's land giving the British crown rights over the land has black and white
communities live side-by-side through generations of divided trouble started to brood over claims the indigenous
community had to their own land in 1992 the High Court of Australia made a monumental decision they overturned to
the legal doctrine of terra nullius meaning aboriginal communities would be able to lay claim to their sacred land
in response the West Australian state government attempted to pass their own laws to stop this new agreement by
issuing dummy freehold leases to land all over the state challenging the federal law one of these freehold leases
was issued to Bradley Murdoch for a small piece of land he had hoped to build a petrol station on just off the
local highway he had even received money from the bank to fund it but this plot was earmarked for Aboriginal land
entitlement and when the federal law was finally passed avoiding all the dummy leases the West Australian government
had issued Murdoch lost the land he was furious he personally blamed local Aboriginal leader Joe Ross who had been
vocally campaigning for Aboriginal rights on the night of August 20th 1995 a 500 strong group of the local
Aboriginal community were celebrating the Magpies second grand final win the Magpies being a local Australian rules
football team Joe Ross and his girlfriend sat in the front seat of their car chatting a little way back
from the main party a Russian backpacker suddenly ran into the crowd yelling and
waving his arms around but he was yelling in Russian so nobody could understand what he was saying he ended
up leaving shortly after that Joe Ross's girlfriend leaned over in the passenger
seat while talking and a bullet suddenly went straight past her head into the seat after Joe Rossi Audia to get down
another shot came luckily missing again in the darkness a drunken Bradley Murdock was pointing his rifle directly
at them and then the crowd as the crowd hid in a gully they heard the thumping footsteps of the six-foot-four Mad Men
running back to his car Murdock had been at his favorite drinking hole the fitzroy lodge where he would go most
days drinking with mates as he had at home drunk he was stopped by a roadblock telling him he had to go the long way
home because of the grand final party he was furious he drove home collected his
guns and drove back to where the celebration was on November 10th that same year Murdock found himself in court
in Perth over the incident he pleaded guilty to owning and operating stolen guns but said he had only wanted to
frighten the group not kill anyone he was charged with possession of a 22 Magnum pistol with a telescopic sight
and a 308 bolt-action rifle both stolen the Aboriginal community were outraged they knew Murdock had targeted Ross and
his girlfriend and were horrified that he wasn't being charged with attempted murder until that point
Bradley Murdock hadn't seen the inside of a jail cell but that drunken act would seem sentenced to 21 months jail
of which he served 15 months before being released for good behavior when Bradley Murdock was released he was
nudging 40 he was a large intimidating men six foot four with large ease a large forehead and he no longer had any
front teeth he had a permanent sneer and kept to himself more than ever there was
no question in his mind that he would move back to the Kimberley it was where he felt the most at home in the untamed
rugged harsh land he set up home in Derby briefly before making the sea changed the broom in 1998 he was driving
for a number of truck companies and again he was recruited by Bacchus he knew had a ferry drugs across the
country amongst his loads which at times were up to for trailers long they would
build false floors and walls surrounding legal Goods and filled them with huge quantities of cannabis and speed a
perfect combination for fueling his own drug needs in fed amines to stay awake Cannabis to help him sleep and the drink
was never far away Murdock loved being his own boss he was never short of a girlfriend either
he had women in a lot of different towns he passed through and most would describe him as a good guy broom a
remote tropical town on the kimberley coast is famous all over the world for its pearl farming and white exotic
beaches it has a rich luxurious tourist market where cruise ships dock on a jetty on the southern tip of the
peninsula locals tend to live and shop on the outskirts and it's known for its transience it's the end of the road for
a lot of truck drivers both legitimate and drug quarries broom was another place where nobody asked too many
questions small talk was the norm this suited Murdock perfectly a friend of Murdock's
brother Brett Duffy Elliott Murdock to live in a caravan on his property with his dog a boxer while he took driving
jobs Murdock got work easily and quickly became well-known for his skills as a mechanic locals said that although he
was a moody bugger with a menacing look he warmed after a wall and seemed like a
good bloke one thing Duffy noticed was that Murdock was forever updating his car he had a white four-wheel drive
Toyota Land Cruiser which he often changed to bits and pieces on in reality it wasn't just a hobby to change his
vehicles look no not feeling that by updating its appearance he would be able to stay under the radar of the police if
someone had seen him doing something he shouldn't have been like moving drugs he
changed his back tray and created a false floor so he could conceal drugs money and weapons
he built a secret compartment by his driving seat he had an extra large fuel tanks which could be taken off and
refitted when he needed this meant that he could travel an extra 1,800 kilometers further than his regular
petrol allowance none of this was suspicious to the people of the outback it was normal to go camping and fishing
for weeks on end and that's exactly what Murdoch did he would work a few months or do a big truck trip to South
Australia and back and then disappear for a few weeks he had met Beverly Allen by then and by October 2
thousand she was his girlfriend Allen would describe Murdock as a gentle giant but she did say that he would disappear
in his four-wheel-drive and reappear again weeks later she never asked any questions though and rarely did he tell
her where he had been Murdock ended up moving into a small unit on the northern edge of town just near the Palms Resort
he walked out for the palms most evenings for a drink the owner said he never said much but they always said
hello to each other Murdock always had different guns stashed around the place and kept the Magnum 357 under his spare
bed and the 22 revolver taped under the kitchen table in 1998 Murdock met James hippy a large rough New Zealand Maori
who had gone to Brune to be a pill diver they fast became friends and shared the
ability to work hard and get the job done Pepe moved into Murdock's apartment and he told Murdock of the property he
had bought in the remote South Australian town of sedan an isolated property in a barren and desolate part
of the state Pepe had a business in sedan sourcing cannabis and amphetamines and driving them to Broome to sell you
can see why their relationship flourished Pepe introduced the Murdock to his wife and daughter and another
friend this South Australian crew took a liking to Murdock and even gave him a puppy when he lost his beloved boxer
replacing it with a Dalmatian cross named Jack Jack and Murdock became inseparable and Murdock made him a
cushion to sit on in the cab of his truck for the long journeys they would share he was a loopy dog who wasn't led
out of the truck often as he would run away but Murdock loved him James happy nine years younger than Murdock felt his
Stars had aligned when he had met Murdock Murdock knew the roads of South Australia the Northern Territory and
Western Australia not the back of his hand he knew the back roads to avoid being pulled over by
cops or Rangers checking for fruit fly they planned to their drive from sedan to brew him into the perfect route of
back roads and tracks by going north through the Simpson Desert and cutting left along the Tana my track they could
shorten the trip by one thing 50 kilometers or 652 miles it was a monotonous dirt road but one they would
be sure to see no one on very often they could turn the 8600 kilometer trip 5343
miles around in about a week as for the money a parent or half a kilo of cannabis that they brought for just
under three thousand dollars would easily sell for fifteen to twenty thousand dollars once it reached Broome
and they could easily transport ten kilos over 20 pounds if they needed to business was thriving
Peter Falcone Oh was born on the 20th of September 1972 in the small West Yorkshire village of Hepworth
Huddersfield in England born to Joan and Luciano the second youngest of four boys
got along well with these three brothers Nicolas Paul and Mark Peter was a naturally bright kid with a larrikin
quality a junior school he enjoyed being the class entertainer and had a lot of mates his ambition and confidence took
him to study locally for his diploma in building construction while studying he worked part-time at a bowling alley and
a local nightclub he was driven to succeed and after graduating and working a while as a surveyor he bought himself
a small cottage close to his family people didn't tend to move far in these areas family was important and with
working-class mindsets the majority of people worked hard and stayed put but Peter had the ambition for bigger
and better things in 1996 while in a local nightclub Peter noticed a striking girl with a dark pop
and piercing blue eyes it didn't take long for him to build up the courage to approach her and from that night on they
were inseparable Joe and Lise born on the 25th of September 1973 was a year younger than
Peter she had lived the first eleven years of her life with her mum Jenny after the separation of her parents but
then her mom met her stepdad Vincent when Jenny married Vincent Joanne gained a younger brother Sam
they didn't have much money but Jenny worked hard to make sure Joanne had a happy childhood there were times when
Joanne would catch a man sitting at the kitchen table crying with a pile of bills in front of her Joanne although
only a child would always try to make her mom feel better these difficulties only made Joanne a more independent
person who appeared to others older than her years Joanne enjoyed her small village life in
Huddersfield she went fairly unnoticed at school and was more interested in her social life than her studies she was
quiet but happy after school she went on to study her a-levels while working part-time as a barmaid and filling in
shifts as a bacon packer at a local factory after her studies she got a job at the local Thomas cook travel agency
and Tver would grow a love for travel Peter decided that he would be better equipped to move up the ladder of
success if he had a degree after a brief stint in Northampton in the East Midlands he decided he would move down
to Brighton along England's south coast to Brighton University Brighton was known as the London by the sea and was a
happening University city for the first year Joanne stayed in Huddersfield and Peter travelled the 400 kilometres 248
miles to see her when he could Joanne was enjoying her job at the travel agency and was nervous to leave her mum
jenny was suffering from arthritis and Joanne and her mum had always been there for each other but her mum had remarried
and the seed of independence began to grow inside Joanne so when Peter asked if she would move to Brighton she did
she got a transfer with the Thomas Cook and was soon working in two bustling offices in Brighton the ones
conservative and quiet Joanne was starting to find the sort of self-confidence that goes with becoming
independent the infectious spirit of Peter and his motivation for travel and bigger and better things made them a
perfect match Peter and Joanne had travelled together on short trips to Italy Greece and Jamaica and in 1998
they started planning for the world trip of their dreams at night after Peter had
been at uni and Joanne had been hard at work helping to plan other people's trips
that was sitting there flat in a steeper Brighton Street full of houses and flat
shares occupied with students and young people like themselves and to make travel plans when they broke the news to
their parents of their upcoming trip their families were notably anxious after all the couple planned to spend
most of their time in Australia and unfortunately the land down under had been making headlines for the wrong
reasons in the early 90s seven young backpackers had been found murdered and buried in the Berlanga Lowe State Forest
in New South Wales five of them were foreign tourists in 1996 35 people were killed and 23 more injured at the
Tasmanian historical site Port Arthur by a lone gunman and only months before Joe
and Peter plan to leave in 2000 a drifter with a hatred of backpackers set fire to a Queensland hostel killing 15
people seven of those were British but Peter and Joanne promised their parents that would take care
never hitchhike and always look out for each other the trip would be a big stall
impede his career and to me the Peter or Joanne had been away for that long before they were due to go in the late
summer of 2000 but when Peter got an offer to finish a college project he had been working on
they agreed a few months would not make much difference and they would still make it to Australia for part of the hot
busy summer they had heard so much about the trip couldn't come quick enough for
the couple the last three months before they left were the wettest on record for
England the incessant rain and constant flooding only made the trip more worthwhile and on the 15th of November
2000 Jolyon and Peter who was wearing the patron saint of travelling st. Christopher around his neck
boarded their plane their journey started with the trek in Nepal then they found themselves on a long bus journey
from Singapore to Malaysia and event on to Thailand they had started to get into
the swing of backpacking life and decided to swap Bangkok with its constant flow of Western backpackers for
the temples rice paddies and swaying sugar parts of Cambodia but on their second day in Cambodia Joe Ian realized
that her as checks and returned flight tickets have been stolen and if they only had a
small amount of money on them they reported it to police but struggled to replace them in Cambodia that rattled
the couple enough that they made a quick exit from the country with the help of a
fellow traveler who paid their tickets back to Bangkok in Bangkok they were able to easily sort themselves out and
get the money checks reissued after a brief thought of going home Peter and Joanne decided that they would continue
with their plans and not let this disaster ruin their trip off they flew to Australia and as dawn broke on the
morning of the 16th of January 2001 with the Sydney Harbour Bridge like a beacon
outside the plane window they touched down in Sydney blending easily on their feet at the Springfield Lodge a quiet
English style Lodge it was in pots point just a stone throw from the centre of Kings Cross and thousands of miles from
the blustery winter back home the area was unlike anywhere they'd ever seen before
Kings Cross the red-light district of Sydney was renowned for sex drugs and a mischief the buzz in the air was
infectious but Peter and Joanne had their heart set on finding a place of their own they settled on a flat share
in bond on this way they could have their own space and a permanent base they planned on finding work and
traveling the vast landscape of Australia life was good with Bondi Beach just a few minutes walk away and if
their clifftop walks along to Bronte Beach and other coves making their new home a dream place to live days after
days of endless blue skies and the nights were filled with bustling nightclubs and hostel bars they were
having the time of their lives Peter and Joanne were on a working holiday visa which only allowed them to
work in one place for up to six months this meant that finding a job in their careers was difficult as employers
didn't want to train you in their business only to see you go a short time later this encourages English working
holiday makers to take jobs in the many bars clubs and stores around Sydney as well as other transient jobs like fruit
picking outside of the major cities it's common to work a few months then travel and then work again an easy way
to fund your trip while meeting fellow travelers Peter found a job easily installing office furniture around
Sydney while Joanne printed off her CV and whence thought is thought looking for
retail work in the main center she dropped the CV into the demyx bookstore chain on George Street and it wasn't
long before the manager caught her at a start they soon got into the swing of things and started making friends in
Sydney Joanne made some strong friendships at her job and started going out regularly
her closest friend was Amanda who was from New Zealand they regularly went to the st. Patrick's Tavern in central
Sydney on Friday nights and most Thursday nights Joanne would go with her friends to the Cooper's Arms
Hotel a backpackers in new Tionne with a pool table cheap drinks and a fun mix of
fellow travels she would stay the night at a friend's house sometimes with up to
four other people and to then go to work in the morning from there Peter didn't join her very often he was more
interested in planning the next leg of their adventure into planning what sort of vehicle they needed for their big
drive Joe Ian had come out of her shell and was even called a livewire by some of her friends and workmates it was on
one of these nights here the Joe Ian tried ecstasy for the first time her and Peter had never doubled in recreational
drugs but the Sydney social scene was rife with party jogs and they just went with the flow
Peter was Restless ready to take on the road but Joe Ian wanted to prolong their
stay in Sydney soon their three months had almost become five she was having too much fun to leave just yet Peter
went to the Sydney travelers car market an underground car park in Kings Cross especially for travellers to buy and
sell vehicles he had been told to try the market rather than trawling the classifieds every week he knew he would
find the best vehicle for their trip and he was excited they would head down the
East Coast to Melbourne across the Adelaide and Dan and up to Darwin from there they would go across the Brisbane
installed the van the plan was then to go over to New Zealand Peter couldn't wait
on a Saturday morning at the market he spotted an orange combivir that looked as though it had a new paint job that
looked well looked after and after meeting the owners who had just finished their own backpacking tour of Australia
he took it for a test drive it had around 85,000 miles or 136 thousand kilometers on the clock which seemed too
good to be true for a car 30 years old the couple who owned it said it ran like a dream I had a sink a fridge a fitted
gas cooker a camp bed in the back and curtains across the back window they wanted $3,000 for it but Peter wasn't a
pushover he knew his way around cars he left it that day thought about it and within days he had bought the combi for
$1,800 Joanne was dubious about the old van it didn't go over 80 km/h without shaking and shuttering
and with around 5,000 kilometers or 3,000 miles in total to drive many of them through the desert she didn't much
like the idea but Peter was so confident Joey and two became swept up in the excitement of their little home on
wheels Peter spent every spare minute tinkering with it Hince thought a lamp in the back for reading and a shelf
under the dashboard for things like drinks his ventolin inhaler and e-cigarettes and Peter wasn't taking any
chances with their money he built a safety deposit box and was determined not to go through another
incident like what happened in Cambodia on the morning of the 25th of June 2001 five months after they'd landed in
Australia they left Sydney behind and set off south driving through Canberra and on to Melbourne it wasn't long
before they had already traveled 1,500 kilometres 932 miles and found themselves in Adelaide six days before
Peter and Joanne left for their trip on the 19th of June 2001 on a remote stretch of road in Western Australia
heading toward the South Australian border 22 year old barmaid Julie was driving solo from Perth to Adelaide when
she noticed the what 4-wheel Drive approached her from behind rearview mirror she had consumed a lot
of alcohol and was feeling weary the four-wheel drive overtook her and stayed in front of her lining up the road she
was grateful and at the next truck stop a few hundred kilometers from the border
she stopped with the four-wheel drive and met the male driver they continued to stop at each truck stop when the
driver shared speed alcohol and cannabis with her to help her with the lock drive
they agreed to stop over the border and camp the night they stopped 200 kilometers over the South Australian
border and parked next to each other they started chatting and realized that they knew some of the same people back
in Perth he seemed like a nice guy and when he set up his bed in the back of his suit under the heavy canvas canopy
Julie noticed how well-equipped he was he had everything he needed to live in that truck Julie laid out a swag and
slept between the two cars Julie told the man she was meeting a friend and heading up to Alice Springs in a combi
she planned to travel in the van through the Barrow Creek area and visit less Pilton the owner of the Barrow Creek
Road house Julie said he was a top bloke she remembers the men looking at her thoughtfully when she said this they set
off again in the morning and at their first stop of the day Julie mentioned she was looking to buy a revolver she
got spooked when the man pulled out a small silver gun and shot it into the bushes asking if she wanted to buy it
Julie wasn't sure if she was spooked because of the mean and the gun or fur it was just a comedown I thought the
drug she had taken the past 24 hours with him either way Julie had had enough and they parted ways Joe Ian and Peter
liked Adelaide with its quiet relaxed fuel they saw most of the sights and took a walk down on Glenelg Beach
Glenelg Beach apart from its whale watching and boardwalk is most famed for the disappearance of the three Beaumont
children which resulted in one of the largest police investigations in the country and remains one of Australia's
most the infamous cold cases they looked forward to driving through the Barossa Valley the wine district of
South Australia responsible for a quarter of the country's wine production Adelaide has been referred to as the
murder capital of Australia a term shared in Chinese whispers through backpacker hostels all over the country
and whilst it has definitely had its fair share of bizarre murders and disappearances over the years the
Australian Institute of Criminology has said statistics don't support this claim
at all studies actually show the Northern Territory is the murder capital of Australia after visiting the Barossa
Valley Joanne and PETA traveled through snow town see case 19 for further information on that town the Stuart
Highway is what lay ahead of them there was a 17 hour drive to uluru and who they knew that once they passed the
sprawling town's past adelaide they would have little or no radio or mobile phone reception it allowed them plenty
of time to spend alone talking about what lay ahead both on their trip and when they got back to the UK Joey and
knew that Peter was likely to propose before they got home and she knew a life together back home was right for her
they stopped at Port Augusta for supplies for the desert driver head the drive to coober pedy a town of 3,500
people and the opal capital of Australia if not the world would give them a taste of the landscape
to come in the red centre arid landscapes and hot springs salt plains sand dunes and maybe even the odd
straight camel it was at this same time that three other British tourists were also doing a tour in a remote part of
the country they too were in a combi but we're a good 1500 kilometers 932 miles northeast of Alice Springs driving west
towards me and Iser and further onto the Northern Territory border two women were
in the front and their male friend was lying down and out of you in the back and first they were thrilled to see
another driver in their revision mirror but as he gained speed and drove close to their tail they became spooked the
other vehicle was a white four-wheel drive with a green canvas canopy the driver made the move to overtake the
British backpackers as he drew up alongside them the driver led over at them with a long
stare before hitting the accelerator and speeding off filthy purvey fought as they neared the top of a hill only a
little further up the road they got a fright to see the same you pull to the side the male driver was halfway out the
door smoking a cigarette as they passed him he got back in his car and pulled back onto the road within a minute he
was back on their table this time he felt so close they thought it was going to hit them once again he made the move
to overtake and as he pulled up alongside them they looked over in horror as he held his hand up to his
head gesturing with two fingers he mimicked shooting himself they followed his guests in the back seat of their
combi where their male friend had just put his head up to see what was going on it was then that the men in the white
four-wheel-drive floored it and sped off they were so spooked they discussed reporting it to police when they got to
me Eliza but they didn't end up reporting it for three weeks Peter and Joanne's Orange combi was slow and
chugging but it had been good to them only backfiring a few times coober pedy was unlike anywhere in the world they
had ever seen the town famous for its opal morning had most residents living in bunker type homes underground a way
to keep cool weather long boiling hot days coober pedy seemed to like the middle of nowhere and it was a desolate
dusty speck in the vast desert it even had to have water truck in for the residents it was no surprise for Peter
and Joey in to learn that this is where Mad Max 3 was filmed they treated themselves to staying at the local
backpackers where they slept in an underground room not too different to a cave jo-ann's sent a postcard to her mum
stepdad Vincent her brother Sam and even the doc saying they were looking forward
to the hot weather up north both Joanne and Peter were good at staying in touch with their families
back home calling often and always sending postcards from each major place they visited a little further past coober
pedy the road takes you east along the hills from the dog fence this two meter high wire barrier stretches for over
five thousand three hundred kilometers three thousand two hundred and ninety three miles across three states to
protect the sheep country in the south from the native dog the dingo the desert like a moonscape along the fence with
its fossilized shells gray soft clay dirt and cracks that appear to be bottomless has been nicknamed the moon
plane you get the feeling you're encountering a Mars landscape out there a million miles from Earth huge rocky
cabins dry dusty and cracked red desert floors as far as the eye can see the occasional whirlwind picking up dust and
dry foliage in tiny turbulent circles in the distance Peter and Joanne were surprised how cold the desert was after
the sunset unbelievable that it was almost as cold as Huddersfield in the winter there were thousands of miles
from home and the landscape made them feel as though they were on another planet they took a left turn at elbow
towards uluru and made it to the Y alaric ambient in time to shower eat and settle for the night they decided to do
the climbing Walkerville Aroo and wanted to do it at dawn to see the magical colors they had heard so much about and
to escape the scorching afternoon Sun they hadn't done a proper hike in ages and at the national park around uluru
the olgas and king canyon was exactly what they were after it is difficult to stay at the Y lraa
campground without thinking about the Azaria Chamberlain case another infamous Australian case Peter and Joanne also
heard the standard campfire stories of man-eating crocodiles and the deadly snakes and spiders of Australia thorn at
uluru was as magical as they imagined it was warm and clear and when they reached
the summit they took a picture of themselves on July 11th after hiking at the olgas they met Canadian backpackers
Mark and Isabel who were looking to travel to the Kings Canyon and event to Alice Springs which is the same plans
Peter and Joanne had Peter and Joanna invited them along and they spent a couple of days together walking the
sandstone gorges and the famous kings canyon rim walk before heading to Alice Springs where they would part ways Alice
Springs would be their last major stop before Darwin there they would have creature comforts which they would
utilize as much as possible before leaving on the last leg of their Outback adventure as the four travelers were
approaching Alice Springs Peter noticed the van pulling unusually over to one side they stopped and Peter
and Mark took a look at the steering rod they decided they would find a mechanic
to take a look Peter and Joanne dropped the Canadians offer their hostel and drove back out of town to a mechanic who
said he should be able to see to it on the Friday morning which happened to be Friday the 13th of July Peter and
Joanne's stayed in a caravan park the next couple of nights they used the couple of days in Alice Springs to
sightsee and treat themselves to some creature comforts while in Alice Peter called his parents
telling them everything was great and they were enjoying themselves they met a couple who told them that
they really shouldn't miss the camel Cup races the next day there was a yearly event Canales and the reason the town
was buzzing with people but Peter and Joanne weren't sure how they would fit the races in and still leave Alice
Springs in time to start the drive north towards Darwin before it got dark Peter
and Joanne had also made a change to their plans when they got to Darwin Peter would fly on a loan to Papua New
Guinea to meet a friend for a walking trip Joanne would fly to Sydney then they would meet back up in Brisbane and
fly to New Zealand together to meet her friend Amanda early on Saturday the 14th
of July Peter picked up the combi van from the mechanics the mechanic said that if they didn't push it too hard it
would easily make the journey at 10 a.m. later that morning Peter visited an accountant in Alice Springs who told him
he owed the tax office money because he had been paying tax as an Australian resident rather than as a non-resident
while working in Sydney meanwhile Joanne went to the library in Alice Springs to
check her emails between 10:30 and 11:00 a.m. they met back up again to have breakfast
together at the green frog cafe after breakfast at 11:30 a.m. Joanne went to a payphone and caught her
friend Amanda who was in Sydney at the time she told her that her and Peter were going to the camel Cup races that
afternoon then they were heading back out into the sparse experience of the Aussie outback Peter and Joey then went
to the Alice Springs Airport and purchased Stowe in a return flight ticket going from Brisbane to Sydney she
collected her ticket then they went onto the camel Cup races for the afternoon they were seen on video footage watching
the races and the miss camel Cup beauty pageant that same morning Bradley Murdoch
arrived in Alice Springs after camping the night before a hundred and twenty five kilometres south at the Finke River
crossing he was on one of his typical drug runs from South Australia to Broome he arrived at 10:30 a.m. as always the
first thing he did was visit Red Rooster then on to Cooter's garage to wash his car then barbecues galore and
then on to the BP petrol station to refuel at 1:30 p.m. he visited the rep Coast thought about some plastic fuel
containers then the bi-lo supermarket at 2:00 p.m. to purchase some provisions he
said he left Dallas between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m. to travel back to groom via the 10 mi track it was after 3 p.m. when
Peter and Joann realized how late it was they raced back to the caravan park to shower and get on the road they went to
the Red Rooster where they were seen by staff late in the afternoon they would try and make it to a place called
Devil's marbles also known as car looky-loo another Aboriginal conservation reserve around 400
kilometres of 248 miles north of Alice they wanted to see the Sun Rise over the marbles but they knew in the slow combi
it would take around 6 hours to get there and they would have to split the driving shifts they knew they shouldn't
be driving at night so we're open to pulling over and sleeping if they had to Joanne hated driving at night mostly
because of the Kangaroos and other unpredictable wildlife as the Sun started going down Joanne got herself
comfortable for their next leg of their adventure she was driving so Peter pulled out a book they passed the last
petrol station before exiting Ellis and then headed north they knew they were behind schedule but the trip had taught
them to be laid-back and they didn't worry Peters head began to droop as they passed the right-hand turn to the Tana
my track just 20 kilometers of the road which is the shortcut Murdoch and heavy used Joanne put a CD on of Scottish rock
band Texas but it didn't keep Peter awake so she suggests that Nettie climb in the back which he did and before Joey
inure Peter was asleep it was nearing 6:00 p.m. when they approached the tire tree Roadhouse Joanne was tired of
driving and the Sun was setting in its vibrant colors across the sky there were about halfway and she decided Peter
could take over she pulled over to the left with the Roadhouse on the right Peter woke up and got out as she made a
drink they shared a joint as they watched the sunset Peter got into the driver's seat
they did a u-turn back around to the Roadhouse where he bought some lollies and purchased fuel before heading back
north again the receipt was time-stamped 621 p.m. about 20 minutes down the road
they noticed the glow in the scrub on the side of the road as they need they realized that there were two small fires
Peter suggested that they stopped to see what was going on but Joey and begged him not to
she felt uneasy and a bit scared they saw two more and at this time Peter just kept driving without either of them
saying a word it was 7:30 p.m. when they passed the Barrow Creek Road house both
a little buzzed from their joint and busy eating lollies they drove straight boy Peter had put the Stone Roses CD in
and they were now past halfway to their destination Aboriginal trucker Teddy Egan who will come up again later in
this story said that Indigenous Australians avoided burocratic as it had bad spirits bad things happened to it
horrific slangs had occurred in the area in the past and it would forever carry a
bad name as they were passing Barrow Creek Peter noticed headlights in his rearview mirror Joanne turned around
they hadn't seen many people at all on the road and on a moonless night the lights were bright as the vehicle
approached Peter slowed down but the driver didn't pass Peter complain that the lights were
blinding him Joanne turned but all she could see with the lights behind them they were close almost right at their
back window the car behind then accelerated and started to overtake them on the right only it didn't overtake it
kept at their speed driving alongside Joanne and Peter both looked to their right as the man slowly glanced over to
them it was pulling faces and gesturing wildly towards the back of their bed he went down his window and started yelling
out Peter and Joanne made out the words Sparks and exhaust Peter slide down as did the other driver
and as Peter pulled over to the left of the road the white Toyota four-wheel drive with the dark green canvas canopy
pulled up behind Joanne didn't want to stop but it happened so quickly she didn't like the look of the guy Peter
immediately got out leaving the door ajar telling Joanne to stay put with the door opened Joey and noticed how cold it
was outside the interior light had stayed on and Joanne looked back trying to hear what Peter and the other man
were saying as Peter bent down towards the exhaust she heard the other man say he had been
seeing sparks coming from their exhaust for a while back down the road she heard
Peter say cheese mate thanks for stopping Joanne felt a quick sense of relief that the man had actually
bothered to stop and tell them Peter stood up and walked back to the driver's side door opening it to reach under the
- the grabby cigarettes he then asked Joanne if she would grab the engines so they could see how bad it was Peter walk
to the back of the combi Joanne got into the driver's seat and looked in the rearview mirror she saw the men looking
at her she read the engine and it rattled loudly before she heard a loud bang it sounded like it could have been
the Kombi backfiring she turned around quickly to see what had happened but the man was at her window with a gun pointed
at her head he pulled the door open and yelled at her to turn off the engine but she
fumbled and froze the man pushed her across the seat as he started to climb in she screamed for Peter as he angrily
pushed her over and turned the Kombi off himself he shoved Joanne right over to the passenger seat and he got him behind
the wheel he leaned over grabbing her telling her to put her head down and her hands behind her back she was in shock
and struggled so he started yelling put your head between your lakes and your [ __ ] hands behind your back she felt
the end of his revolver hard up against the side of her head she did as he said and he fastened a thick black plastic
homemade handcuffs to her wrists they were made out of cable ties and electrical tape
he opened the passenger door and threw it to the ground Joanne hit the ground hard before he
stepped out and got on top of her she fought hard kicking and screaming as he tried to tie her ankles together over
and over she would kick and screaming up for Peter as she kicked and thrashed he
tried harder and harder to tie her ankles together finally he let go of her legs with one big blow he punched her
hard in the side of the head before yanking her up and dragging her to his vehicle he couldn't take the risk of
someone driving past and seeing the mess he was in it's unclear if Joanne blacked
out at all but she didn't notice whether Peters body was lying anywhere between the two vehicles he attacked a pool
Joanne over to his vehicle attempting to stretch wide electrical tape over her mouth she was thrashing and resisting as
he struggled to find a face and he got the tape stuck in her hair lifting up the corner of the back canopy he
retrieved a cloth bag which he shoved over her head he opened at the front passenger door of his four-wheel-drive
and shoved her under the passenger seat she was still screaming for help and screaming for Peter at this point she
saw the dog in the front of the attackers car sitting on the driver's seat the dog didn't move and didn't
react to what was going on at all the interior light was on and the man's face was only about 18 inches away from her
he had a scruffy face grey specks all through his hair his jaw was long and he had a mean scale the next thing doing
knew she was in the back tray under the canopy she didn't know how she had gotten there possibly he shoved her
through the canopy on the side of the vehicle she didn't know she was lying on his stomach
but rolled onto her back as her eyes adjusted to the darkness she noticed a small light towards the back which she
thought must have been the tail light she heard the crunching of the ground under the means fading outside she heard
scraping and dragging she was absolutely terrified and for the first time had found some clarity over
the seriousness of the situation she again found herself yelling for Pete she heard the man say be quiet or I'll
[ __ ] shoot you it was at this point that Joann became absolutely terrified that the man was going to rape her she
was more terrified of that than of him killing her with the man still out of sight she said what is it you want is it
money the van just take it are you going to rape me have you shot Pete all she got in response was no the dragging she
on started up again and this is when she edged her feet towards the back of the Ute ray hanging
her legs over the back she waited until she heard nothing outside and she dropped us off over the edge running for
her life into the scrum on the west side of the highway she ran with her heart beating out of her chest for what seemed
like forever falling twice before not being able to run anymore she hid under a bush that was about a
meter tall and curled up into a ball her hands were still tied behind her back but she laid there motionless she
didn't want to move petrified he was going to come looking for her she tried to control her breathing
but the deafening silence meant that everything she entered lay out to her the next thing go in you the man was
flashing a torch around the area where she had run the torch was lighting up areas close to where she was she heard
him say good boy stay she could hear him crunch the gravel and then the Sun changed as he stepped onto the
undergrowth she was shaking with terror and could not find it in herself to risk
getting up and start running again encase he saw her he continued sweeping his torch across the branches Joanne
expected he would find her any second he walked past there three times not far from the bush she was called under
but then he turned and walked back to the road Joanne heard heavy sounds in the gravel
and the men getting into his car he slammed his door and started the engine slowly the white four-wheel drive pulled
out onto the road but to her horror instead of driving off he backed up and faced the car so the headlights lit up
the scrub Joanne's whole body froze he was looking for her again after what seemed like an eternity he drove off
confused and frightened Joanne was too scared to move it was at this time that a local family were driving south from a
family trip they'd had a flat tire and received help from some nearby campers by the time they got on the road again
it was dark they drove slowly as they didn't want to risk another flat tire especially with nine people in the car
they saw another car approaching and commented how strange it was it didn't look like a tourist vehicle and it was
strange to see locals driving out there at night there was a white high vehicle with a canopy not much further along
they noticed an orange Kombi van parked on the side of the road they kept driving
Joanne confused and disorientated believed that the man was coming back she realized that the handcuffs he had
put on her behind her back were fixed with cable ties and tape she had a looped space of about 10
centimeters in the middle she twisted them around and tried to wriggle out but she couldn't she then tried to get her
hands back up to her front and by curling her knees up to a chest in sliding her tied wrists down over her
bottom and underneath her legs she was able to pass one leg through at a time she tried different ways to break the
toys but nothing worked she got the chapstick lip balm out of her pocket to grease up her wrists but it was no use
Joanne was sobbing and shaking it was 11 degrees Celsius by then and she only had
shorts and a shirt on she remained hiding for over 40 hours in case he came back she crawled towards the road where
hidden long grass enormous headlights then emerged up along the road it was a 90-ton three carriage road train
traveling at a steady 90 km/h she knew it couldn't be the man coming back as it approached she got herself up and took a
couple of steps onto the road holding her handcuffed hands in front of her before stepping back to the roads edge
and running alongside the truck the driver saw her and slammed on the brakes the truck took over one kilometer to
stop it was near 12:35 a.m. Sunday the 15th of July the driver Vince Miller was driving a load down from Darwin and his
co-driver was asleep at first he thought he had run Joanne over but then he saw her running towards the truck
hysterically sobbing he couldn't make much sense of what she was saying she had cable ties around her wrists and
duct tape in her hair he called out to his co-driver and together they helped her to remove everything they knew
something was wrong and they agreed to help but look around for her boyfriend who she was saying was missing they
disconnected the trailer and drove around noticing various different tire tracks in the area it wasn't until
Joanne mentioned that the man had a gun that they stopped looking and went for help three minutes after the truck had
stopped for Joey 12:30 8 a.m. a man bearing similar characteristics to Joanne's attacker was caught on security
footage at the Scheldt truck stop in Alice Springs the man purchased a large amount of fuel ice and iced coffee he
paid a hundred and thirty dollars in cash the driver left the Roadhouse at 12:50 a.m. the vehicle was a 75 series
diesel Toyota Landcruiser with a canvas canopy over the tray that was reported to be virtually identical
to the vehicle that Murdoch owned at the time friends and family of Murdoch believe it was his vehicle and the man
was him at 1:30 a.m. Joanne and her rescuers arrived at the Burr Oak Creek Road house the pub was open and the bar
was busy Vince Miller went inside and alerted the owner les Pilton Hilton thought he was
joking at first but then rang the police Joanne was terrified and didn't want to go inside the
Roadhouse Hilton made her a cup of tea and Joanne started to count down but she was still in shock
Cathy Curley a barmaid kept Joey and company it took the Alice Springs Police a couple of hours to get there they
arrived at 4:20 a.m. they examined Joey and her clothes took statements and asked though lots of questions about
what had happened they noted that she was clearly in shock they took her clothes as evidence so
Joanne had to borrow something Miller drew a map for the police to show them where they'd pick Joey enough
Joanne described her assailant to the police as being a tall man around 45 years of age she said he had a longish
face with deep-set eyes sunken cheeks and scraggly hair coming out from under a black baseball cap there was a lot of
gray in his collar length hair and he had great flecks in his eyebrows and mustache the mustache was Mexican style
that drooped at the ends his eyes were drooping and his face was very lined he wore a check pattern shirt
with a dark t-shirt under it and heavy-duty trousers possibly jeans at 7:00 a.m.
Northern Territory police launched a search for Peter and their gunmen Saini constable Abbot and detective Sullivan
set out with other officers to cordon off the scene together we've been smaller they looked for anything
suspicious they found a pool of blood covered with dirt beside the Stuart Highway this
blood was later DNA matched to Peter Falcone oh the police also found the orange calm be parked well off the road
80 meters further on it would be 80 hours after the last sighting of the attacker before Northern Territory
police set up checkpoints and roadblocks it was entirely plausible the man had gone to ground or was hiding in a remote
area of the outback it was also possible he could have already gone interstate around 12:00 roadblocks were eventually
organized covering the main routes from Catherine to the South Australian border
to the Queensland border to the West Australian border every Road house and cattle station in the area was also
contacted but the Tanner my road was not blocked their prime concern at that stage was
locating Peter Falcone oh the crime-scene examiner from Alice Springs went to the Burr Oak Creek Road house
and interviewed Joey taking photos and videos of her injuries and taking DNA swabs in the area around the crime scene
her team of officers walked two kilometers in both directions east and west of the road doing a sweep of the
land with sticks Joanne's footprints being the only thing of note they found after this Sergeant Bruce grant and
eight other officers formed the team to comb even more of the area with metal detectors for six days they searched
only finding rubbish there would be three months later that a new search would locate the lead of Joanne's lip
balm and some duct tape a request was put in for Aboriginal trackers but they were unable to get to their location for
a few days Joanne was taken to the spot where the combi was found to see if anything was
out of place and later taken to Alice Springs to help further with the investigation and to receive appropriate
medical attention Joanne didn't have a proper medical check-up for a couple of days she was
offered no counselling victim support or care the Northern Territory police were
scratching their heads they found her story so unbelievable that there was an air of uncertainty amongst the officers
over whether or not she was telling the truth no one was advising Joanne on what she
should and shouldn't say to the press she was becoming increasingly anxious apart from the pool of blood there was
not a single trace of Peter or any of the belongings he had on him Alice Springs detective Colin Quinn
received a call in the middle of the night from her sergeant who said a bloke is missing and his girlfriend reckons
that someone shot him but she's okay Colin had been back in Alice Springs for six months after a year working in Port
Moresby Papua New Guinea she was a tough woman who had seen a lot in Port Moresby
when she would go on her daily run she would be accompanied by an armed guard with a rifle she had a rape gate fitted
on her living quarters there were huge drug and alcohol issues there and attacks were common a female cop was a
good target Colleen had no idea what she the rest of the police or the town of Alice Springs were in for media from all
over the world would take no time to land in the town there was an attractive English girl small and shy recounting a
story that defied belief escaping a nightmare attack in the middle of the desert by a huge man with a gun that had
tied her up and shot her boyfriend everyone wanted the story and they dissected every word most of these
people were Juby Asst Joanne remained tight-lipped to the media she gave only one interview directly after the
incident while still at the Roadhouse but later her story changed while recounting details with the police
although she was in shock and could be forgiven for her slightly confusing account although the falcone o--'s had
given short press conferences in the immediate aftermath of the event Joann kept the waiting this planted a seed of
doubt that would grow within the media the girlfriend of the missing men not speaking for ten days when Joann gave an
official press conference there was a request for public help she wore a t-shirt with the words cheeky monkey
across the chest although the press and the public found this hard to swallow Joanne would reveal that the police had
taken all her clothes and belongings and so she had practically nothing to wear she never gave the shirt a second
thought but the press had a field day with it back home in England the tabloids printed headlines horror troops down
under reminding people of the terrifying backpacker motors as well as other attacks people started to feel a
reminiscence Helene Chamberlin and her cool sometimes negative demeanor to the press and the
public in the wake of the disappearance of her baby Azaria Joanne was not too different avoiding the media and
speaking through Falcone OHS brother Paul who had arrived from England unfortunately for Joey and
inconsistencies in her story started to appear her lack of explanation to the media caused them to draw their own
conclusions from the information they had her description of the dog was muddled people couldn't understand how
she got her hands from the back to the front she came across as cool and aloof in the midst of her world falling apart
when CCTV footage finally came out of the men who fit the description stopping for petrol in the early hours of July
15th Joey initially told police it wasn't her attacker then changed her mind and said it was the media and the public
sword is Joanne being untrustworthy even Moyne responding to early public alarm and media scrutiny commander Bob fields
who led the investigation in its early weeks relied on an analogy to explain the magnitude of the task that lay ahead
quote we're looking for a needle in a haystack and you don't get a haystack much bigger than the Northern Territory
Joanne's account suggested a crime of opportunity perhaps even impulse the backpackers were in the wrong place at
the wrong time so the suspect population was defined merely by its capacity to be
at the crime scene on that particular evening the case was no ordinary investigation there was unrelenting
media attention in Australia and abroad police promised an extremely proactive inquiry stating that they were
determined to leave no stone unturned there had been no further leads on Peters body Aboriginal trucker Teddy
Egan found signs of stones kicked over and footprints belonging to Joanne although he said that tracking humans
was a lot easier than tracking animals because humans make such a mess neither he nor the three other trackers used by
police found any trace of Peter or the attacker a photo fit had already been released based on Joanne's description
and on August third another one was released showing how the men would look without a moustache and
short-hair Joey and stadion Alice Springs to help with the investigation for a few weeks before traveling back to
England this was viewed by some as her running away but something else would start to evolve in the story that would
take Joey and by total surprise and she would be so scared she would not tell a single soul until sometime later the day
before she was due to leave Alice Springs and returned home she was at the local RSL club for dinner with Paul
Falcone Oh Peters brother they had always had two police chaperones with them to protect them at around 8 p.m.
Joanne received a call from the police asking her to come down and give an interview she was confused and scared
throughout the interview she started to feel that she was being suspected they asked her to clarify inconsistencies in
her statement it became apparent they were trying to get a confession out of her the interview ended with them saying
they wanted to get closure for Peters family and could she tell them where the body was she felt betrayed and scared
she didn't want to tell the falcone others because she was worried what they would think
well appearance vehicles movements and personality require time to observe and are fairly easy to disguise DNA is
impossible to mistake a tiny cut on the back left sleeve a Joanne's t-shirt gave
police the opportunity to use DNA or identification the resulting tiny brown smudge in an otherwise unstained section
of the light blue t-shirt yielded the only significant DNA profile in the investigation up to that point it didn't
match Peter Joanne or her rescuers it was a full profile belonging to an unknown male this DNA profile was
obtained in the police forensic lab in Darwin just a few days after the attack it was plugged into the Australian DNA
register but no match was found swabs taken from the gearstick steering wheel and cuffs were tested
partial DNA was found to be present but the process was not sensitive enough to provide a reliable result however the
results did provide partial matches to the same unknown male whose profile was found on Joe Ian's t-shirt but they
needed more testing to be done to link those pieces of evidence so the investigators had the
silence DNA profile but it didn't match anyone on the database a little used alternative when there is no database
match is a public appeal for volunteers to provide samples they had only been to
significant mass screenings of DNA in Australia at that time one being the screening of Perth taxi
drivers in Claremont a mass screening would also be used soon after this case on Norfolk Island whilst investigating
General Patton's motor however these initiatives were aimed at tightly defined and geographically narrow groups
who were susceptible to both the social pressure and a degree of police surveillance but the geographical and
social scope of this case was too wide and a public appeal for DNA wasn't going to work the 250,000 dollar reward for
any information leading to a conviction and strategy of troop feeding the media to generate new interest yielded over
2,500 phone calls in the first three weeks of the investigation before long their Person of Interest list totaled
several thousand names initially the task force had trouble dealing with the influx of information and it was
difficult also that Joanne's description of the attacker although vivid in her mind was somewhat
generic the initial Northern Territory police investigation came under fire when in October 2001 three months after
the disappearance of Peter another examination of the crime scene found the lid of the lip balm belonging to Joanne
as well as duct tape the attacker had attempted to place on her Colleen Wynn would remember the investigation later
saying quote there was nothing about what the Northern Territory police were doing at the time that was actually very
flattering or made us look like a group of people who knew what we were doing the police
carried out covert suspect DNA testing with help from police officers across the country over the next year there
were approximately 30 people from the list of suspects who were considered hot prospects based on their proximity to
the crime scene description and vehicle so this is who they focused on the other
crucial piece of evidence they focused on was the CCTV footage captured at the truck stop the night of the attack
Joanne's initial reaction to the footage was the me too old though enhance footage shown to
her later led her to concede he's somewhat of a man I described police believed it was significant that after
the stills were released to the public no one claimed to be the man pictured either he had somehow missed all the
publicity or he had decided not to come forward out of fear of being linked to the Barrow Creek incident although there
was one man who received phone calls from friends and family after stills of this CCTV footage were released to the
media Bradley Murdoch's father called him and said he'd seen him on the TV the good
thing for Joann and the investigation was that the men on the footage did fit her description examination of the
footage revealed that not only was the vehicle a Toyota Landcruiser but it was a particular model a Haj saïd j7 5
series manufactured between May 1991 ended November 99 a list of registered owners of such vehicles included Bradley
Murdock who had purchased the white 93 H said J 75 Toyota Landcruiser secondhand
Murdock was also one of 36 men who callers had claimed to recognize as the man in the truck when the images were
released with this information the police visited Murdock in his broom flat on the 1st of November 2001 while there
are no official descriptions of this visit one journalists account is that local police officers attended on behalf
of the task force according to the account Murdock chatted politely with the officers who reported back to the task
force that neither Murdock nor his vehicle resembled Joanne's descriptions groomed police collected information
around town about Murdock and tried to get information from close acquaintances although both housemate and drug running
mate happy and girlfriend Beverly Allen would later admit to Murdoch's absence from the broom area the weekend of the
crime and his strange behavior in the days following they didn't volunteer this information to police at the time
Murdock was not asked for a DNA sample on the day as far as the record shows but they did ask him to participate in
an ID parade to which he declined Murdock stayed on the list of suspects but with no escalation
so after four months with the original investigation not getting very far and constant criticisms of bungled police
work a new team needed to be formed Killeen Gwyn was handed the reins of being chief investigator she knew that
the original investigation could have been better managed but there were not enough resources for a crime and manhunt
of that magnitude Killeen described receiving the case as a huge sugar rush followed by extreme crashes with periods
of insomnia she didn't feel very confident she felt she didn't have a strong team of players on the Northern
Territory police force and Peter and Joanne's family in the UK had lost confidence in their ability so she built
a small strong task force of officers she believed would help us solve the case when she took over the task force
the roadblocks had long been lifted and the trail was well and truly cold so the
investigators faced the difficult drug determining movements and appearances of potential suspects from months earlier
the timing of the Barrow Creek attack at night in the middle of a weekend worked
against relying on employment records instead inquiries were turn on the recollections of potential suspects and
their acquaintances as well as circumstantial evidence derived from documents such as receipts and video
footage the first step was to compile a list of persons and vehicles of interest
we interview as many people as they could and re-examine the scene the task force had a lot of potential suspects
that fit Joanne's description of her attacker a British documentary later quoted the view of local police that the
published photo fit looked like a third of the population of the Northern Territory a local newspaper said quote
there is no shortage of what four-wheel-drive utilities on top and roads is the vehicle of choice of both
the bushy and of the office worker who enjoys a weekend fish Colleen Wynn said the case got very real
for her when she got dropped off a loan at the scene of the crime and walked into the scrub to where Joanne was
hiding alone she got her colleagues to drive away she could hear her own heartbeat and said that she had never
been so terrified or vulnerable in all her life she wanted to cry even though she could use her phone at any time to
call someone to come and get her the task force analyzed government and commercial records to identify
approximately 17,000 people in transit in the Northern Territory in the week surrounding the attack however this
methodology would not have detected people who were avoiding or simply not using public and private services many
auerbach travelers would fit this category including Murdoch who was running cannabis from South Australia to
Broome and always to extreme measures to avoid surveillance the task force relied
heavily on tips and informal ways of getting information like chatting to the public
Colleen flew to England to meet Joanne and the falcone a family she knew that Joanne had no confidence in the Northern
Territory police after a 12-hour interview kollene ascertained that there was no
problem with Joanne's account of the incident she was clear and her memory was strong she found Joanne's
recollection of small details uncanny she heard no inconsistencies and from that moment on was convinced that the
problem was bad investigation she believed Joanne was an amazing witness and regained her trust the task
force got that break on the 17th of May 2002 police pulled over James happy after receiving a tip and found four
kilos of cannabis in his suit he was facing a lengthy prison term so he decided to start talking pepe informed
police he had once seen his former business partner bradley Murdoch making handcuffs with cable ties apparently
identical to the ones used to be on Joey he also said that Murdoch had once told
him how he would dispose of a body in a spoon drain like those on the edge of the 10 mi track
other information haeppy gave was that Murdoch was on a drug run the weekend of the attack and when he arrived in Broome
he had mentioned he had gotten into some unspecified trouble during the run he also dramatically changed his vehicle
and his appearance immediately afterward it was at this same time police learned
that Murdoch had fallen out with his brother Gary so armed with this information police asked Gary if he
would provide a sample for DNA analysis which he did possibly because he didn't believe his brother was responsible
Gary's DNA result confirmed that Bradley Murdoch was their suspect as they had a
partial DNA match this match proved that the person who owned the blood smudge on
Joanne's t-shirt was a blood relative of Gary's the police soon learned that Gary
had called Murdoch straight after the test and warned him that the police were after him
Murdoch disappeared and he knew the area like no other it wasn't until several months later the 22nd of August 2002
that Murdoch was arrested in South Australia for an unrelated case the rape and abduction of a mother and daughter
near Swan reach this offence allegedly occurred only weeks after Peter and Joanne's attack at Barrow Creek a
paranoid Murdoch bound a young girl and her mother so tightly with handcuffs chains and toys that he had to use tools
to freedom the mother was an acquaintance of Murdoch and welcomed him often to her home in South Australia it
was alleged that her and her daughter were kidnapped and sexually assaulted in a panic toy dear Murdoch had to use them
as insurance if the police closed in on him he subjected them to a 25 hour ordeal fueled by drugs and alcohol
before finally letting them free after his arrest for this crime the task force investigating Peters murder was finally
able to catch up with Murdoch and they were able to get his DNA while Murdoch was imprisoned in Adelaide Colleen and
her team flew down to question him Colleen said we arrived at the prison the media was everywhere outside I
walked through the three sets of secured doors my heart is beating like you wouldn't believe I finally got to meet
this man Colleen was not just overcome with the intensity of meeting the murderer of an
investigation that had consumed her but also with the surprising and personal connection to her past they saw her
having to battle demons she had not anticipated Colleen said there was a remarkable resemblance between my father
who was the most intimidating and violent men who I've ever had anything to do with my past flashed before me and
at the same time Murdoch was playing a game of intimidation with me he stood over me
this tall intimidating figure and I was so small under his frame he was yelling at me he was spitting on my face and I
was never going to take a backward step and I didn't I played the game and I won
he took the backward step in November 2002 police flew to the UK and Joanne was shown a photo board containing 12
photographs including one of Murdock that process was filmed than a transcript produced the officer
conducting the exercise advised Joanne the following what I proposed to do is show you a number of photographs of
persons you should take as much time as you require and look at all the photographs before making a decision the
person involved in the incidents on 14 July 2001 may or may not be amongst these photographs if you see a
photograph of the person you should indicate to me which photograph it is by clearly pointing to it or by touching
the photograph do you understand Joanne nodded and pointed to a photograph and said I think it's number
10 that photograph was of Bradley Murdoch the DNA was sent to England for testing by leading forensic examiner dr.
Jonathan Whittaker of Britain's forensic science service based in West Yorkshire
he used what was then a new DNA technique called low copy number DNA analysis dr. Whittaker was able to
establish a DNA profile from previously undiscovered traces more new traces that
the Australian lab was unable to test Australian forensic experts had already established that the DNA on the t-shirt
was an exact match to Murdoch 150 trillion times more likely to have come from murder
than anyone else but they were unable to link his DNA to the handcuffs dr. Whittaker using his low copy method was
able to retest the DNA found on the innermost layer of tape used to construct the handcuffs he found it was
100 million times more likely to have come from Murdoch than anyone else dr. Whittaker also carried out tests on
swabs taken from the gearstick of the combi and found a partial DNA profile matching Murdoch after a trial in the
South Australian District Court in Adelaide Murdoch was found not guilty of raping and abducting a woman in her 12
year old daughter he was immediately arrested for the murder of Peter Falcone oh and the unlawful detention of his
girlfriend Joanne Lise Murdoch was extradited to Darwin where he was charged with murder and kidnapping in
May 2004 media descended on Darwin to cover the committal hearing of Bradley Murdoch at this hearing it would be
decided if there was sufficient evidence to send Murdoch Patrol that would take three weeks to hear witness testimonies
and other evidence before a decision was made during the committal the Director of Public Prosecutions hired a PR firm
to facilitate the needs of the media ensuring coverage didn't prejudice the trial and that the Northern Territory
justice system was seen as professional to cope with the demands of the troll and the huge media contingent the
Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin was renovated at a cost of $900,000 two witnesses gave evidence at
the committal hearing who claimed to have seen Peter Falcone Oh on July 22nd 2001 a week after what was now known as
the Barrow Creek incident the attack on Peter and Joe Ian the couple Robert Brianna and Melissa Kendall said they
were working at a service station 2,500 kilometres away in Burke outback New South Wales they said a man they
recognised as the missing tourists from newspaper photographs entered their shop
Robert and Melissa both said they were certain it was him he was travelling with another man and a dog in a dark
green utility vehicle Robert said he noticed a slight accent and that he was not Australian he said the man bought a
chocolate bar and the man's companion was a very rough looking person skinny with dark hair a
loose skin and a dirty white t-shirt covered with red dust who bought two packets of dog biscuits Melissa said she
was shocked and didn't know what to do she had seen a photograph of Falcone Oh in the newspaper that day and
immediately recognized him Peters mother Joan and brother Nick left the court and
remained our sight for most of this testimony Robert and Melissa's account of the sighting varied Melissa described
the man in his late 20s as solid with a shaved head and dark stubble a fair complexion and an injury to the left
side of his face Robert meanwhile described the man as being in his early 30s solid with sandy colored short hair
and an injury to the right side of his face Melissa said she sold the missing man a drink and then told Robert after
he had left the shop what happened the Sun was still up at the time Robert meanwhile said the men was still in the
shop when Melissa came and got him and he sold him a coke and a mars bar and that it was getting dark when he left
Melissa stated she didn't notice if he spoke with an accent whereas Robert recognized he had an accent but he
couldn't place it Melissa was adamant it was Falcone oh she saw that day she said the people
were acting very strangely and she was unsure what she should do the people he was with a man and a woman were in an
open-back truck which they parked out of sight of the office part of the petrol station they had to stretch the fuel
hose right here to make it reach it was as if they didn't want to be seen she stated that Robert and her both went out
very carefully to look at them the other men who is with the guy who looked like
Peter match the photo fit pictures the police had put her she said when they drove off
they didn't drive out onto the main road they went up a back lane which led off in the direction of Brisbane the
policeman who took their statement apparently mocked them and made a comment about Elvis although labelled as
a red herring this sighting fits in with rumours that had started circulating at
the time conspiracy theories that Peter Falcone Oh had faked his own death because he had money troubles at home a
story that was spurred on by the tax agent in Alice Springs telling he owed money for tax in Australia so he
faked his own death but never expected his story to make international headlines Joanne and Peter's family have
made repeated pleas for the rumors to stop Murdoch's lawyer green algae raised the fake death scenario when he
suggested that the British couple had stopped by the side of the road near Barrow Creek to meet with a third man
who they had arranged to take Peter away alive what would also emerge was the secret
Joe Ian had been keeping Joanne admitted she and a friend called Nick overstepped
the boundary of friendship back in Sydney but that it had now ended she had confided in Peters brother back in 2001
about this but she did not wish to personally tell his parents she let Paul falcone oh do that it was
never spoken about but Joanne knew she had the full support of the Falcone OU family during the cross-examination of
Joey and bought Murdoch's defense attorney in green algae she was asked if she had a sexual relationship with Nick
while her and Peter were living together in Sydney Joanne replied I'm going to answer yes
but I wouldn't classify it as an affair or a relationship Nick was an Irishman Joanne had met on a
night out in Sydney when she was staying over with friends on her Thursday night
out in New Tampa there was actually a mix place where the group of friends would study and it
would be Nick who she would have coffee with at the cafe before getting the train to work on a Friday their affair
grew in intensity but Joanne wasn't sure if it was merely the thrill or if she truly had feelings for Nick she briefly
flirted with the idea of leaving Peter for Nick but deep down she knew Nick was just playing the field a young single
guy who was about to leave Sydney and go traveling again she soon dismissed the idea as a silly thought they had a
farewell together in Sydney and Nick set up a secret hotmail account under the name Steph so that she could secretly
email him without Peter knowing she was then asked in court if she had emailed Nick or Steph when she was in
Alice Springs to make arrangements to meet up with him in Berlin to which Joe Ian said no she had merely made a
suggestion the media enjoyed the news of the affair immensely Joe Ian also denied
that she and Peter had an argument at the backpackers in Alice Springs the night before reaching Barrow Creek or
that there was trouble in their relationship she saw the affair with Nick Moore as a blip on her and Peter's
otherwise smooth five-year relationship Murdoch's defense team were using the affair to try and plant reasonable doubt
Joanne was questioned that length about her account of the breed of dog she saw in the front seat and why she had
changed her mind over what breed the dog was her initial description of the dog at the time of the incident was medium
sized brown and white or black and white and short-haired which would then changed the following day to medium size
the blue heeler Brienne and wire short-haired Jolene explained that when she was taken to the Roadhouse of Barrow
Creek and met Kathy curly the barmaid who had been comforting her she also meant Kathy's doc which he felt
resembled the attackers dog in Kathy's dog was a blue heeler although more Dalmatian in appearance
Murdoch's dog was a Dalmatian blue heeled across after extensive back-and-forth it was decided by the
court that Joanne had identified Murdoch's dog with the evidence heard at the committal it was decided there was
enough evidence to proceed to trial the trial was set to start in October 2005 it would run for eight weeks and hear
from 85 witnesses and have more than 300 exhibits tendered the world would see a
very different Joey and Leigh's of the trial instead of ignoring the media and hiding in the backseat of a car and
being hurriedly swept into an underground car park and back entrance of the court Joanne would walk the front
steps of the court happily greeting the press on the morning Joanne was due to give
evidence at trial a police woman approached her and told her that back in Alice Springs during the first few weeks
of Peters disappearance the Northern Territory police had bugged her room the officers justification for the bugging
was in case her attacker tried to contact her Joanne was livid she paced up and down the room swearing and crying
then suddenly she decided she needed to focus her anger channel it towards the person that caused all of this and that
was Bradley Murdock Murdock formally pleaded not guilty to the murder and to assaulting Joanne and depriving her of
her Liberty he sat behind a glass enclosure flanked by two officers who stayed with him every minute as Murdock
stood he towered above them Murdock was described as having an immensely strong presence
he sat filling out exercise books concentrating intensely as he studied the evidence and maps
he sat behind the glass watching Chief Justice judge a Brian Martin prosecutor Rex Wilde his own defense barrister
grant LG the six men and six women of the jury plus the three reserve jurors and sometimes he would glance over at
the public gallery we're in the front row sat Luciano and Joan Falcone oh and behind them
Joanne Lee's on day one Murdock shook his head as Joanne walked to the witness box
the prosecution presented the video footage that was captured at the Alice Springs truck stop in the early hours of
July 15 2001 just the hours after the murder of Peter Falcone Oh the defense argued that this footage could have been
of anyone the judge ordered the jury to dismiss defense arguments and to accept the prosecution's statement that the man
in the video was in fact Murdock but stressed that this alone was not enough to convict the Modoc of the murder they
presented that Murdock boasted to friends about how he would be able to easily make handcuffs from cable ties
and actually explained to people how someone would be able to attack Joanne kill her and get away with it they also
highlighted Murdock was an admitted drug courier who always had a gun on him several eyewitnesses including a
mechanic is stated that Murdock had major modifications made to his car in August 2001 just weeks after the attack
experts testified that road conditions across the top end of the Northern Territory were good on July 14 and July
15 2001 making it possible to complete the trek from Alice Springs to Broome in less than 16 hours and the Murdoch
actually had 20 hours to make that drive so it was well and truly possible narcotics experts testified the people
who are regular users of amphetamines are capable of driving up to 36 hours with high levels of concentration it
also came out that prior to Murdoch's arrest police were tipped off by four different people that he was the killer
British forensic scientist dr. Jonathan Whittaker took the witness stand to talk
about the tests he had carried out in his lap after receiving items of DNA he confirmed the positive match for Bradley
Murdoch - the blood stain on Joanne's t-shirt as well as the match to the blood found on the gearstick of the
combi he stated he did tests on the layers of the black tape that made up the cable ties in particular the inner
layers of the tape and on one particular swab that he tested he found a partial DNA profile although not a complete
match he was able to calculate the probability that that particular DNA was 100 million times more likely to be
Bradley Murdoch's than any other person in the population dr. Whittaker was an expert in low copy number testing or LCM
when you have very very long amounts of DNA to test he is able to extract what is there there was a different type of
test - the ones already carried out in Darwin and in fact it's only been in use since 1999 in the UK dr. Whittaker is
one of the scientists that perfected this technique the higher sensitivity of the tests put the result into question
because of the probability of cross contamination of the other DNA green algae Murdoch's defense lawyer raised a
lot of questions about the potential for cross-contamination between the cable ties in particular and other possessions
that belong to Murdoch stating that the cable ties have been stored in the same freezer as a known profile of DNA from
murder thus the sample was contaminated the defense had a slew of arguments their
main defense was in relation to the DNA evidence but the forensic labs that conducted all DNA testing in this case
were not up to accreditation standards and hence all DNA tests were unofficial and the DNA from some samples could have
contaminated others they argued that DNA was mixed up and when items were recovered at the scene three months
after the incident they must have been planted by police they argued that both Peter and Joanne were heavy users of
marijuana and occasional users of ecstasy they had a joint just 20 minutes prior to the offence so Joanne may have
been stoned at the time they continued to point out the misidentification of the breed of dog and Joanne's confusion
over the description of her attackers vehicle compared to what Murdoch's vehicle looked like at the time of his
arrest the prosecution had to remind the court of the changes Murdoch made to his
vehicle prior to that arrest Murdoch argued that he did not have a compartment from which you could go from
inside his vehicle to the back tray Joanne had not been sure how she'd came to be in the back tray and suggested
that this could have been helped the defense made the point that police nor Aboriginal trackers had found any trace
of Peters body they also argued that Joanne did not have injuries consistent with the type of attacks she suffered
the defense then said that Murdoch Peter and Joanne were all positively identified at the same fast-food
restaurant Red Rooster in Alice Springs on the day of the attack so Joanne and Murdoch made bumped into each other
there the prosecution argued that the times they were seen were different but even if this was true they did bump into
each other this would only account for finding contact DNA whereas they had Murdoch's blood Murdoch claimed that
he'd been set up by James heavy that happy was gunning for a deal to reduce his own jail sentence and the police
were trying to pin the murder on him James hippies ex-girlfriend Rachel Maxwell told the court that she met
Bradley Murdoch a number of times in 2001 she said she saw Murdoch and happy with a gun and hippies property at sedan
in South Australia the gun had a silver barrel and wouldn't handle kind of like a gun you seen a Western a John Wayne
style gun when Joanne gave evidence at the beginning of the trial she described the gun used in her attack as having a
silver barrel and looking like a western style of gun Julie MacPhail was then called to the stand Julie was the 22
year old barmaid who had driven alongside Murdoch shared drugs with him and camped with him one night for weeks
before the incident at Barrow Creek she told the court that she shared a campsite with Murdoch On June 19 2001 it
was there that she told Murdoch of her plans to travel in a combi van through the Barrow Creek area with a friend as
she was a witness she was not allowed to hear other evidence given in the court so that's why Julie said it was only
that week the week of the trial when she read snippets of Joanne's book which featured in The Herald Sun newspaper
that she realized how close she may have been to tragedy she stated that even the
way Murdoch drove beside Joanne and Peters combi was eerily similar to her own experience she confirmed that
Murdoch had scared her off when he pulled out a gun and fired it into the bush Beverley Allen Murdoch's girlfriend
said that Murdoch showed her the newspaper page containing in the CCTV images she was pretty convinced that it was
Murdoch and his vehicle on the front page but Murdoch sat her down and pointed out all the differences of the
vehicle Murdoch also said that he was telling a camper trailer so could not have been
him but Beverley said that the picture of the person concerned her because it just looked like Murdoch when asked what
made her think that Beverly said I just remember the way he walked the way he sort of he held himself you know his
body posture when James hippy took the witness stand he stated that in August 2001 he saw the
same newspaper images seen by Beverly Allen he said the images on the front page of the newspaper were discussed
between him and Murdock Murdock also denied to happy that it was him or his four-wheel drive in the images in court
happy was shown in the same images asked if he recognized the man in the picture
hippy responded that it was Murdock asked how he recognized him hippy said he knew by the stance by the look and by
the mustache Pepe also said Murdock had told him the best place to bury a body was in a spoon drain and that he saw
Murdock making cable tie handcuffs after his testimony happy and Murdock shared this exchange in the courtroom Murdock
you're a [ __ ] lawyer heavy [ __ ] you judge all right thank you that's enough when Murdock took this then he was
relentlessly cross-examined by the prosecutor Rex Wilde who questioned Murdock in close detail about his
movements in Alice Springs on Saturday the 14th of July 2001 Murdock admitted he was in Alice Springs that day but
they he left around half past three and was hundreds of kilometres away when the
attack occurred Rex wall challenged Murdock about the timing of his trip on the Tanner my
track suggesting it could have been much quicker than he claimed Murdock testified that he took 24 hours to
travel the 1,100 kilometres 683 miles from Alice Springs to halls creek saying he'd let the toys down because of the
rough track and had to stop twice for repairs after further questioning Murdock raised his voice at the
prosecutor your pinpointing me on a hell of a lot of things here that was a long
long time ago Murdock repeatedly denied it was him in the shell truck stop security footage
and he gave numerous reasons why the men and the vehicle in the footage were different but after more
cross-examination he started to admit that there were similarities he admitted the parts of the vehicle were similar
like the shape and the height of the vehicle he admitted that the wheels and the rims were the same but said the
tires and zips on his canopy were not the same as the one in the video when asked directly if it was his vehicle
Murdock said firmly it's not my vehicle because I was not there at that particular time
the jury were then showed the video footage the prosecutor said it looked like Murdoch to which he replied the
image should look like a lot of people Murdoch was then reminded that his own father called him to tell him he had
seen him on the television when asked to explain his DNA on Joanne's t-shirt Murdoch simply said I can't
another deeming piece of evidence was found when an officer of the task force meticulously trawl through the thousands
of belongings confiscated as evidence from Murdoch's car and trailer the officer found a single twisted hair tie
with a silver clip that Joann had lost in her struggle to get away it was wrapped around Murdoch's shoulder gun
holster when presented with this small elastic at trial Murdoch recalled and wouldn't touch it
during their closing argument the prosecution said that Murdoch saw Joanne and Peter while in Alice Springs and
believed they were following him so he drove behind them as they traveled along the Stuart Highway and then stopped them
because he feared they may be spying on him and make contact police in relation to his drug running after stopping them
he panicked and killed Peter then abduct the Joanne boning her with cable ties and putting her in the back
of his vehicle after which Murdoch was trying to dispose of Peters body Joanne then escaped into surrounding shrubland
Murdoch searched for her with his dog and a flashlight but gave up Murdoch been buried Peter in a place unknown in
the central Australian air back having wrapped Peters head with Joanne's denim jacket so as to prevent any blood
getting in his vehicle then Murdoch panicked and rather than driving through the bush strength of groom he drove all
the way back to Alice Springs where he was spotted on closed-circuit television at a truck stop hitting suppliers before
heading out to Bru where he travelled non-stop at great speed taking amphetamines to keep himself awake and
alert Murdock then altered his physical appearance as well as his vehicle's appearance so as to avoid detection and
immediately stopped running drugs because he feared that he might be linked to the murder the prosecution
said that there was no evidence whatsoever of any police corruption or planting of evidence and urged jurors to
dismiss any suggestions as an unfounded conspiracy theory they said that all of the evidence pointed to one obvious
conclusion that Murdock killed Peter Falcone and that whilst no body had been found yet it would be eventually it was
only a matter of time they asked the jury to ignore the evidence of the sightings of Peter after the attack to
dismiss them as not accurate highlighting discrepancies in the stories of the various people who said
they saw him alive the DNA was a match there was no chance that it was not Murdock's DNA and hence the jury must
find him guilty in their closing argument the defense said that Peter Falco neo faked his own death and that
when Peter and Joanne stopped by the side of the road near Barrow Creek it was to meet with a third man of
description unknown in order to take Peter away alive police planted evidence with the assistance of Murdock's former
drug running partner James heavy who had both motive and opportunity to frame Murdock they pointed to the lack of a
body the alleged sightings of Falcone Oh in the days thereafter the inconsistency
of Joanne's testimony and the poor police procedures in handling evidence they suggested to the jury that from
time to time for reasons best known to themselves people just disappear sometimes they are found again sometimes
they aren't after all of the evidence was heard judge Brian Martin gave the following
instructions to the jury how you approach the evidence is a matter entirely for you there are many issues
that have been raised for your consideration you may or may not be able to resolve all the issues you must put
aside the flamboyant suggestions of counsel that we do not need experts from the mother country to teach us colonials
a thing or two please put aside all the hyperbole and concentrate on the evidence before you that's why you look
at all the evidence not just the experts the question to be considered by you is
whether you are satisfied the accused blood came to be on the t-shirt in the course of attacking Miss Lee's are you
satisfied that the DNA came to be on the item because of contact in the course of
the accused attacking Miss Lee's or is it a reasonable possibility that the DNA came to be on the item through an
innocent contact or through some form of contamination either deliberate or accidental if you are satisfied the
creon submission is correct and you were satisfied that the men who attacked miss
Lee's killed Peter Falcone yet then the crown will have proved its case of murder
you must not reason that because of those other activities the accused this is the type of person who is likely to
have committed the offenses charged it provides the setting for the accused to travel and explains why he was on the
road that weekend if from a consideration of all the other evidence you are satisfied it was the accused and
his vehicle at the truck stop it will follow that you are satisfied that the accused has not been truthful with you
and others on the 13th of December 2005 over four years after Peter Falcone ou disappeared the jury spent eight hours
deliberating before reaching their verdict they found 47 year old Bradley Murdock
guilty he was sentenced to 28 years jail without the possibility of parole judge Brian Martin said to the jury I
entirely agree with your verdict there would be no temporary or permanent release of Murdock before the expiry of
his sentence meaning Murdock will be 74 years old when he is released Murdoch showed no emotion when his
sentence was read currently the Northern Territory is one state that is considering following South Australia's
lead introducing a nobody no parole law this law sees that any convicted murderer who has not revealed the
location of their victim will never be granted parole Bradley Murdoch is the only person in
the Northern Territory who this law would apply to if past when the jury's verdict was read out Joanne who was
sitting in the public gallery leant forward and put her head in her hands Peters brother Paul placed his arm
around her shoulder and his parents Joan and Luciano gripped her hands in a gesture of support : Gwynn was also in
the gallery after the verdict was read she glanced over to Jane Falcone oh who mouthed the words thank you at that
point Colleen removed herself from the courtroom unable to contain her emotions outside court Joanne Lee said to the
press I would like Bradley John Murdoch to seriously consider telling me Joan and Luciano and peach brothers what he
is done with Pete on the 12th of December 2006 Murdoch appealed against his life sentence in the Supreme Court
his lawyers lodged eight grounds of Appeal the appeal was dismissed a month later a further appeal to the High Court
of Australia was also unsuccessful police said Murdoch's methodology and criminal profile would be carefully
scrutinized for possible links to several missing women across the state in 2010 28 kilometres north of the spot
Peter Falcone was shot two plumbers retrieved an old-fashioned Remington new army model 44 dated to 1858 and with all
six chambers allotted and bore a striking resemblance to the western-style gun described at trial it
was found way down in a long drop Danny or outdoor toilet wrapped in Iraq due to
its poor condition it couldn't be determined if it was the gun used the location of Peter falconeri's body
remains a mystery however in mid-august 2007 some sections of the media speculated that Murdoch may
reveal the location of his body in exchange for a transfer to a prison in Western Australia seeing that all
avenues of Appeal for Murdoch have now been exhausted but Murdoch the noise this speculation he maintains his
innocence and says that although he would love a transfer back closer to where his terminally ill mother lives he
cannot give information on something he knows nothing about [Music] you

Case 44: Peter Falconio

The desert roads of the Northern Territory are as long as they are desolate. If you stand still, your own heartbeat is the loudest sound you’ll hear.

The thrill of the open road and the sheer expanse of the hot desert is an exciting drawcard for many, but for those used to big cities, busy beaches or in this case, the relentless rain and dark clouded skies of England, driving from Adelaide to Darwin was the thrill of a lifetime, and unlike anything they had experienced before.

But it would soon turn into a nightmare…

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anna Priestland Writing – Anonymous Host Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://www.casefilepodcast.com/case-44-peter-falconio

Brief Summary

The episode recounts the attack on Peter Falcone and Joanne Lees in Australia, detailing the investigation and trial of Bradley Murdoch.

Key points

The Dangers of the Outback. Traveling through the Australian desert requires caution and preparation to avoid deadly risks.
A Night of Violence. On August 20, 1995, a drunken Murdoch opened fire on a local Aboriginal community.
Murdock and Jack Jack. Murdock forms a deep bond with his new dog, Jack Jack, after losing his boxer.
Life in Sydney. Peter and Joanne settle into life in Sydney, enjoying the vibrant atmosphere and making friends.
The Cold Desert Surprise. After sunset, Peter and Joanne are shocked by the desert's chilling temperatures.
A Dangerous Encounter. Joanne and Peter face a terrifying situation when their van is approached by a stranger.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

he was at a crossroads and he made the move to Albany.

9:28WatchNov 19, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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