Bradley John Murdoch, convicted of the 2001 murder of Peter Falconio, died on 15 July 2025 in Alice Springs Hospital. He was 67 and moved there from Darwin Correctional Centre for palliative care due to a terminal illness.
Murdoch had insisted upon his innocence. Refusing to divulge where Falconio’s body lay, he denied the family closure. With the Northern Territory government confirming the death, no final confession was uttered.
He was serving life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 28 years, having been sentenced in 2005 for murdering Falconio and attempting to abduct Falconio’s girlfriend, Joanne Lees.
Bradley Murdoch died aged 67 in Alice Springs Hospital after being moved for cancer-related palliative care.
What happened on the night Peter Falconio vanished?
On July 14, 2001, Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees were driving about Barrow Creek along Stuart Highway in a Kombi van. They were stopped by a suspicious character, who claimed that sparks were coming from their car’s exhaust.
Falconio stepped down to check. Moments later, he had been shot. Lees was tied up with cable ties and threatened with a gun. She escaped and hid for hours in the bush.
Lees flagged down a road train in the early hours of the following day, and Falconio was never sighted again. The search was conducted extensively for him, but the remains were never found.
Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio pictured together during their travels across Australia.
How did police link Bradley Murdoch to the crime?
Murdoch was suspected in late 2002 after a routine traffic stop in South Australia. In 2003, blood found on Joanne Lees’ T-shirt was found to have a DNA profile matching that of Murdoch.
His DNA was also found on cable ties used to bind Lees and on the gear stick of the Kombi. Joanne Lees subsequently identified Murdoch in a series of photographs. He was then arrested and charged with murder and deprivation of liberty.
The 2005 trial revolved around forensic evidence and Lee’s testimony. Despite a victim never being found, Murdoch was convicted by the jury and sentenced to life imprisonment, with the possibility of parole not earlier than 2033.
Cable ties used by Murdoch to bind Joanne Lees after the attack in 2001.
Why didn’t Murdoch ever reveal the location of Peter Falconio’s body?
Murdoch remained uncooperative with authorities throughout. He consistently maintained his innocence. He never sought parole nor admitted any remorse for the crime while incarcerated.
In 2016, the Northern Territory introduced a “no body, no parole” law. Under this law, an inmate convicted of murder must disclose the location of the victim’s body as a requirement before being considered for parole.
That meant Murdoch would never walk out of prison unless he spoke the truth. He chose to remain quiet until the very end, taking whatever secrets he had to the grave.
NT’s 2016 “no body, no parole” law blocks parole without revealing the victim’s remains.
Could someone else finally come forward with new information?
Ex-NT Police Officer Colleen Gwynne, who headed the investigation, said Murdoch’s death can provide new leads. Gwynne thinks others could have known Falconio’s last resting place.
Gwynne expressed to ABC News that she hopes Murdoch’s death will bring about some kind of justice. “Maybe someone else will talk now that he’s gone,” she added.
The reward stands at $500,000, having been doubled in early 2025. Policing still has the case open and welcomes any public information.
Colleen Gwynne believes Murdoch’s death could prompt new leads in the Falconio case.
What happens now for Joanne Lees and the Falconio family?
Joanne Lees, who now lives in the UK, has largely stayed out of the public eye in recent years. She wrote a memoir in 2006 and has said in the past that she hoped Murdoch might confess one day.
With the death of Murdoch, that hope remains extinguished. However, the mandatory coronial inquest will now proceed, as required by NT law.
The Falconio family in Yorkshire has never ceased to search for answers. For them, it is key to know where Peter was laid to rest.
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Bradley Murdoch’s death closes one chapter, but leaves many questions unanswered.
The death of Bradley Murdoch brings the close of a dark chapter in one of Australia’s most chilling true crime stories. But the search for Peter Falconio is not over yet.
He never revealed where Peter Falconio’s remains might be. Despite the forensic evidence, he held on to the claim of innocence till the very end.
Now, the police hope that his death might bring others to come forward. The $500,000 reward remains.
It was the courage and survival of Lee that were crucial to securing justice. But for Falconio’s family, true closure is yet to be possible.
Nearly 24 years later, the mystery in the outback continues-the silence holding the secrets Murdoch took to the grave.
