25 years after the brutal murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio in the remote stretch of highway near Barrow Creek, the Northern Territory Police have released a set of previously unseen photographs taken during their investigation.
The series includes a stark full‑length image of the killer, Bradley Murdoch, facing the camera during inquiries, as well as several photographs of Joanne Lees’ injuries following the attack. One photo shows Lees bent over in the scrubland after her wrists were tied with cable ties, while another captures her traumatised face in the hours after the assault.
Murdoch was convicted of Falconio’s murder in 2005 and died of throat cancer at the age of 67 last year, never revealing the burial location. The case remains open, with the NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole urging that the investigation can never be closed until the body is found and the family can lay the victim to rest.
Additional images released include the orange Volkswagen Kombi van the couple travelled in, found abandoned near the Stuart Highway, and pictures of the crime scene itself. Police have also provided a recently published body‑cam interview footage with Murdoch in jail, calling for any clues that might shed light on the missing remains.
