Peter Falconio: Australian police offer $500k reward for information leading to discovery of British backpacker's remains

Police in Australia are offering a $500,000 (£238,670) reward for information leading to the discovery of the remains of murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio.

The reward has been announced ahead of the 24th anniversary of the 28-year-old's death.

Mr Falconio and his partner Joanne Lees, both from Yorkshire, had been driving near the tiny settlement of Barrow Creek on the remote Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory of Australia in 2001.

The couple were backpacking across the country in a camper van when Bradley John Murdoch pulled up beside them claiming to have seen sparks coming from their vehicle.

He shot Mr Falconio in the head as he inspected the van, before forcing Ms Lees into his vehicle and binding her wrists with cable ties.

She managed a daring escape, hiding in the outback scrub for hours before flagging down a passing truck.

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Murdoch had likely disposed of the backpacker's body somewhere in the vast, remote expanse of desert between Alice Springs and Broome, covering more than 1,200 miles.

Despite repeated searches, Mr Falconio's body has never been found.

Murdoch was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for at least 28 years for the murder of Mr Falconio and the attack on his girlfriend.

He has always maintained his innocence and has never revealed the location of Mr Falconio's body.

Mark Grieve, acting Northern Territory Police commander, said officers "still hold out hope" someone may hold "vital information" to aid in the search.

"In what will be the 24th anniversary of (Falconio's) death this July, being next month, we're asking for anyone who may believe they have information that can assist to please come forward and contact police," he told reporters in Darwin.

"It's never too late to reach out, and at least start that conversation with police, because you just never know how beneficial that information that you may hold may be.

"We recognise the passage of time that's transpired, however, it's never too late to reach out and start that conversation with police."

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New appeal in hunt for backpacker Peter Falconio's body

Murdoch, 67, was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019 and was moved to palliative care from Alice Springs Correctional Centre earlier this month, according to local media reports.

Ms Lees, who has since returned to the UK, told Australian current affairs programme 60 Minutes in 2017: "Pete lost his life on that night, but I lost mine too.

"I'll never be fully at peace if Pete's not found, but I accept that that is a possibility."

Murdoch lodged several unsuccessful appeals over the years, with Australia's highest court refusing to hear his case in 2007.

He was not eligible for parole until 2033, but would have remained behind bars under "no body, no parole" laws preventing him from being released if he refused to disclose Mr Falconio's whereabouts.

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