The man responsible for the notorious murder of British backpacker, Peter Falconio, has died aged 67.
Bradley John Murdoch died in Alice Springs on Tuesday (July 15) after being diagnosed with terminal throat cancer six years ago.
He was transferred to a palliative care unit from Alice Springs Correctional Centre earlier this year to receive treatment, while continuing to serve a life sentence for Peter’s murder.
Peter’s body has never been found.
Despite pleas from Peter’s family and the police, Murdoch maintained a stony silence for more than two decades, refusing to discuss what happened when he killed Peter, and attempted to kidnap his girlfriend Joanne Lees in the Northern Territory outback on July 14, 2001.
Did Bradley John Murdoch confess?
Weeks before his death, true-crime author Robin Bowles claimed she knew what Murdoch’s last words would be.
“I know what they are, and they will be explosive,” Robin told 7News.
The author interviewed Murdoch as part of her research for her 2022 book, Dead Centre.
“It’s a shame they weren’t able to be released earlier. You can’t sue a dead man,” Robin continues. “So if he’s making the claims and he’s died, then the proverbial might hit the fan.”
Currently, no confession has been found.
Where are Peter Falconio’s parents?
For Peter’s grieving parents, Luciano and Joan, who remain in his hometown of Huddersfield in Northern England, the only answer they want is the truth.
When informed of Murdoch’s death overnight, Luciano, 83, was visibly shocked.
“He has died, oh dear,” Luciano told News Corp. “You heard I said, ‘oh dear’, that’s my goodwill towards anybody.
“I don’t wish anybody dead because you have only got one life and I think if you’ve been given that gift of life…I don’t even know what to say.”
Luciano said the family had held hope in finally laying their son, who they think about sometimes “every hour”, to rest. But that hope was now gone.
“I tell you what I think, I wish he [Murdoch] left something for me to find him. I wish he left something,” he said. “My vocabulary is not that good, what can I do, I’m only a human being”.
Joan, who is reportedly too distressed to speak, had previously told the Daily Mail: “All we ever hope is that Peter will finally be found one day, in our lifetime.”
What is the reward to find Peter Falconio?
News of Murdoch’s impending death resulted in NT Police doubling the reward to $500,000 for information leading to Peter’s body.
Detectives also reportedly made several attempts to speak to Murdoch recently but he would not budge.
“He’s (Murdoch) not being too forthcoming in regards to engaging with police, but we will continue doing what we have to,” NT Police acting commander Mark Grieve told the media at the time.
“We think there’s still people out there that may hold some information. There may be someone out there that he’s confided in, whether or not that’s family or friends, we just don’t know.”
Was Peter Falconio ever found?
Former NT Police officer Colleen Gwynne, who led the investigation into Peter’s disappearance, says there’s a chance Murdoch could have forgotten the location of the body.
“He’s not acknowledged that he knows where the body is,” Colleen told NT News. “[Murdoch] had a pretty good understanding of Outback Australia – particularly those areas that he travelled regularly.
“He knew that like the back of his hand; there is potential that with the stress that he was under, the fact that Joanne escaped and he had a victim that was now at large, that he may – through the stress – he may have forgotten exactly where he disposed of the body.
“I’d be surprised because that doesn’t really equate with his personality.”
She is certain of one thing – his guilt.
“I knew every inch of the case and every piece of evidence,” she said.
