Police announce $500k reward for anyone with information about Peter Falconio remains

Police have provided a major update on the murder of Peter Falconio, as his killer is reportedly on the verge of death.

Police in the Northern Territory have launched a new appeal for information on the whereabouts of Peter Falconio’s body, offering a potential reward of up to $500,000.

The British backpacker was murdered in 2001 by Bradley John Murdoch, who it was yesterday revealed has been released from prison into palliative care at Alice Springs Hospital.

The 67-year-old outback killer, who was found guilty of the crime in December 2005, was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019.

Despite continued efforts by police, Mr Falconio’s remains have never been found – sparking fears Murdoch, in his dying days, will be taking his secrets, including the location of Mr Falconio’s body, to the grave.

At a press conference on Wednesday, NT Police Acting Commander Mark Grieve said authorities “still hold out hope that someone will be able to provide some vital information to assist in this search”.

Bradley John Murdoch has been transferred from prison into palliative care. Picture: Patrina Malone

“As such, a fresh reward for information is now on offer of up to $500,000 – for information that leads to the discovery of Peter’s body,” Acting Commander Grieve announced.

“We’re asking for anyone that may believe they have information that can assist to please come forward and contact police … We recognise the passage of time that’s transpired, however it’s never too late to reach out and at least start that conversation with police.”

Asked if police had reinterviewed Murdoch, Acting Comm Grieve said officers had done so as recently as this week.

“We’ve made numerous approaches to Mr Murdoch over the years that have passed up until very recently, being this week,” he told reporters.

“Unfortunately the outcome of those conversations rest with Mr Murdoch. On all occasions, he has chosen not to positively engage with police.”

Authorities have repeatedly searched the area where Mr Falconio was killed.

A previous reward of up to $250,000 had been offer to anyone with information. Police have doubled that amount, Acting Comm Grieve said, in the hope of trying to “at least bring some slither of resolution to Peter’s family by bringing home his remains”.

“We have been unwavering in that regard in the 24 years up to this point,” he said.

British backpacker Peter Falconio and his girlfriend Joanne Lees.

A source told the NT News on Tuesday that Murdoch is “just about dead”.

According to the source, a currently wheelchair-bound Murdoch returned to Alice Springs Correctional Centre to say goodbye to his fellow inmates.

The killer, they claimed, gets “special treatment for a murderer” – including more welfare checks than any other prisoner – and had been in and around the Northern Territory town on excursions, often accompanied by high-ranking corrections officers.

A spokesperson for the NT Department of Corrections declined to comment on the state of Murdoch’s health or his reported excursions around Alice Springs.

“The Department of Corrections does not comment on the health of individual prisoners,” they said in a statement.

“Additionally, we do not provide details about prisoner movements or escorts for operational security reasons.”

Acting Commander Mark Grieve with the Crime and Intelligence Command announced a $500k reward for information that could lead to the whereabouts of Mr Falconio’s body. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

On July 14, 2001, Mr Falconio, then 28, and his girlfriend Joanne Lees were travelling on the Stuart Highway north of Barrow Creek, about 208km north of Alice Springs, when a car pulled up alongside their Kombi van and motioned for the couple to pull over.

Behind the wheel was Murdoch, who told the young backpackers there were sparks coming out of their van.

As Mr Falconio went to inspect the back of the Kombi, Murdoch pulled a gun on him and shot him in the head.

Murdoch then forced Ms Lees out of the van, binding her wrists with cable ties and forcing her into the back of his LandCruiser.

She was somehow able to escape, hiding in the outback’s sparse scrub for five hours before she was able to stop a road train and get help.

The English couple had been backpacking around Australia at the time. Picture: Supplied

During Murdoch’s murder trial, it was revealed the killer had also put Mr Falconio’s body into his car, before dumping him somewhere between Alice Springs and Broome – towns almost 2000km apart.

“The case isn’t closed until they find Peter,” former NT Police assistant commissioner John Daulby previously told The Project.

Murdoch was found guilty of murder by a unanimous jury verdict in December 2005.

He was sentenced to life in prison, with a non-parole period of 28 years.

“I doubt that any description is capable of fully conveying the true extent of the trauma and terror that you imposed upon (Ms Lees),” Chief Justice Brian Martin told Murdoch at his sentencing in Darwin’s Supreme Court.

“It must have been close to the worst nightmare imaginable.”

Murdoch pictured outside an Adelaide court on November 10, 2003. Picture: Supplied

Murdoch, who maintained his innocence throughout the trial, appealed to overturn his convictions twice. Both attempts were unsuccessful, and he was refused special leave by the High Court in 2007.

The Northern Territory introduced “no body, no parole” legislation in 2016, meaning Murdoch would not have been eligible for parole in 2032 if he continued to keep Mr Falconio’s whereabouts a secret.

Following his cancer diagnosis in early 2019, the NT News reported Murdoch initially refused treatment for the condition.

A prison officer at the time told the paper Murdoch had had extended periods of leave from his job in the prison’s kitchen, where he worked as a pastry chef.

Originally published as Police announce $500k reward for anyone with information about Peter Falconio remains