Body of British backpacker Peter Falconio finally found nearly 14 years after murder in Australian Outback?

Updated

An Australian TV programme is set to claim that the body of murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio is buried at the bottom of a well.

Peter Falconio and girlfriend Joanne Lees were attacked in 2001 by Bradley Murdoch near Alice Springs.

The Seven Network's Today Tonight programme in Adelaide, South Australia, said a witness has come forward who knows where his remains are, reports the Mirror.

The news follows an investigation after a tip-off to the programme's senior reporter Frank Pangallo, from an eyewitness who was in the area not long after the attack.

Footage from the programme shows a watery hole, possibly a well, and Pangallo describes it as an important new lead.


Peter and Joanne, both from Yorkshire, were touring Australia in an orange Kombi van in 2001, when a man flagged them down on a lonely stretch of the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory.

Falconio got out of the car to speak to the man, now identified as Murdoch, before Lees heard a shot.

She was then put in handcuffs and kidnapped, but managed to escape. She never saw Peter again, and police later found a pool of blood on the road.

Murdoch, who was convicted in 2005, is serving a life sentence for his murder and has never revealed where his body lies. He has always maintained his innocence and lodged an appeal against his sentence in December.

Pangallo said he hoped the new information would bring an end to the Falconio family's "nightmare".

But NT Police spokeswoman Rebecca Forrest said Today Tonight had not contacted them about the alleged location of Peter Falconio's body.

She told the NT News: "Today Tonight hasn't liaised with us at all prior to the report going to air.

"The Falconio case is ongoing, anyone with any information is encouraged to call Police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

"NT Police followed up all relevant areas and sightings thoroughly and searched all areas of interest received from substantive information

"If anyone has any information about the whereabouts of Peter Falconio they are obliged to bring it to police attention urgently."

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