Man who murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio dies

Bradley Murdoch, the Australian man convicted of murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio in 2001, has died.

Murdoch, 67, was serving a life sentence at a prison in Alice Springs, in Australia's Northern Territory.

He was being treated at Alice Springs Hospital in recent weeks, reportedly for terminal cancer.

The Northern Territory Department of Corrections told the BBC that Murdoch died in the hospital's palliative care unit, on 15 July, a day after the 24th anniversary of the killing.

The death will be subject to investigation by the Northern Territory Coroner, officials added.

In 2005, Murdoch was convicted of murdering Mr Falconio, from Yorkshire, but had never revealed the location of his body.

Mr Falconio was shot dead on a remote stretch of highway near the Northern Territory town of Barrow Creek, about 300km (186 miles) north of Alice Springs in July 2001.

Murdoch pulled up beside their vehicle claiming to have seen sparks coming from their camper van.

He shot Mr Falconio in the head as he inspected the vehicle, before taking 28-year-old Joanne Lees, Mr Falconio's girlfriend at the time, into his car and binding her wrists with cable ties.

Murdoch was also convicted of the attempted kidnap and assault of Ms Lees, also from Yorkshire, who managed to escape by hiding in outback scrub for several hours before she was able to signal for help.

The ordeal partly inspired the 2001 horror film Wolf Creek.

Murdoch was 43 when he committed the crimes.

During his trial, prosecutors said that Murdoch was likely to have disposed of Mr Falconio's body somewhere in the vast expanse of wilderness between Alice Springs and Broome, a distance of nearly 1,600km (1,000 miles).

In 2016, the Northern Territory introduced "no body, no parole" legislation, meaning Murdoch would not have been eligible for parole in 2032 if he did not reveal the location of Mr Falconio's body.

Murdoch has always maintained his innocence, and unsuccessfully appealed to overturn his convictions twice.

In an interview with local newspaper NT News published this week, Mr Falconio's father, Luciano, said "I wish I could find him and make an end to it, bury him".

"I know what happened but I don't know where he is," Luciano said.

Last month police in Australia announced a new reward of up to A$500,000 (£240,000) for information leading to the discovery of the remains of the murdered British backpacker.

Acting Commander Mark Grieve of Northern Territory Police told a press conference in late June: "Police still hold out hope that someone might be able to provide some vital information to assist in this search."

"We recognise the passage of time that has transpired but it is never to late to reach out and start that conversation with police," Grieve said.

He said in that press conference police had "made numerous approaches" to Murdoch, including in June, but said that "unfortunately... on all occasions he has chosen not to engage with police".

Acting Commander Grieve said he wanted to "try and at least bring some sliver of resolution to Peter's family by bringing home his remains" - and said they had spoken to family about the reward.

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