Bradley John Murdoch, … infamously dubbed the “Outback Killer,” died Tuesday night. He passed away aged 67 in the Alice Springs Hospital palliative care unit. Yet his nimble departure reopens that question with more urgency. The cold case disappearance of British backpacker Peter Falconio, who disappeared in the parched outback of central Australia 24 years ago, has once again hit the headlines.
Murdoch’s criminal career started in his teenage years in Geraldton, a port city on Australia’s west coast. He was the youngest son of a car mechanic and a hairdresser. Yet somewhere along the way, as a teenager himself, he fell victim to biker gang crime. In 1995, he had his first major confrontation with the law. His sentence hardly resonated as justice served when he received a 21-month prison sentence for firing at a cluster of Indigenous people in Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia. Murdoch served 15 months before being released.
On July 14, 2001, a landmark case in Murdoch’s life was set to start. He tricked Peter Falconio and his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, into stopping their campervan on a lonely stretch of highway just outside the Outback town of Alice Springs. Murdoch tied up Lees’ wrists with zip ties. She broke free and fled into the desert brush, where she remained for hours, expertly avoiding their grasp.
In 2003, police finally took Murdoch into custody. Two years later, he was forced to stand trial at the Supreme Court in Darwin, Northern Territory. In July 2006, he was found guilty of murdering Falconio. Consequently, he was handed down a life sentence as punishment with an expected minimum term of 28 years before he can apply for parole.
The enigma of Falconio’s disappearance has remained ever since that ill-fated evening. No matter how long or hard they have searched, his body has never been recovered. Recent Police Commissioner’s Medal recipient Colleen Gwynne, a former Northern Territory detective, made an interesting proposal. She suspects that Murdoch could have stashed Falconio’s body in an area he isn’t entirely confident of the details.
“Once that panic set in … he may have disposed of a body somewhere he’s not entirely certain where that is.” – Colleen Gwynne
The case, which not only shocked Australia, but captivated many who closely followed the trial. Chief Justice Brian Martin commented on the horror of the situation faced by Lees:
“It must have been close to the worst nightmare imaginable.” – Chief Justice Brian Martin
Murdoch’s death leaves many unanswered questions. For Falconio’s family and friends, his conviction didn’t bring true closure. That pretty accommodation aside, they still to this day wrestle with the uncertainty of his fate. Since Murdoch’s imprisonment, there have been multiple theories as to what might have happened to Falconio, but none have been conclusive.
The devastation of Murdoch’s crimes has echoed throughout the community and far beyond. The case has become symbolic of the dangers travelers face if they go into isolated areas of Australia. As police sift through the possibilities for closure, most would agree that Murdoch’s death might add a fresh — or, at the very least, different — perspective on what happened.
