Today, a significant public hearing will take place in Alice Springs, led by Northern Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage, focusing on the circumstances surrounding Murdoch’s death.
Testimonies will be heard exclusively from officials representing the corrections and health departments of the Northern Territory.
Murdoch, who passed away at the age of 67 due to throat cancer, died on July 16 in the palliative care unit at Alice Springs Hospital.
He was serving a life sentence for the murder of Peter Falconio, a 28-year-old British backpacker, as well as the assault and attempted abduction of Falconio’s girlfriend, Joanne Lees, now 52, which occurred on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in July 2001.
Despite his conviction, Murdoch consistently denied his involvement in the crimes and never disclosed the location of Falconio’s remains.
The incident unfolded as the backpacker couple was traveling along the Stuart Highway when Murdoch approached them, signaling for them to stop under the pretense of a mechanical issue with their van.
Falconio went behind the car with him to investigate and Lees heard a gunshot. Murdoch grabbed her, cable-tied her and covered her head.
But she managed to escape and hid in bushland for five hours while Murdoch hunted her with his dog, before she flagged down a truck driver.
Murdoch was arrested in November 2003 over Falconio’s disappearance after a jury in South Australia acquitted him of raping and falsely imprisoning a 12-year-old girl.
The SA case allowed NT Police to obtain his DNA, which was later found on the makeshift handcuffs worn by Lees, as well as on her T-shirt, leading to his arrest.
Falconio’s parents in July expressed relief that Murdoch had died, saying “it’s like a weight that’s been lifted”.
“We didn’t have much faith, but we were hoping Bradley John Murdoch would reveal where Peter was before he died,” Luciano and Joan Falconio said in a statement at the time.
“But even now, we still hold out hope that his remains will be found.”
A reward of up to $500,000 is available to anyone providing information that leads to the discovery of Falconio’s remains.
