Northern Territory police released bodycam footage showing Bradley Murdoch refusing to reveal where Peter Falconio's body is. The interview was made public ahead of the 25th anniversary of Falconio's disappearance, keeping the focus on the unresolved location of his remains.
Murdoch, who died in jail last year, is heard saying: "I don't know anything about it." Police were trying to get him to disclose the location of the body as they released the footage ahead of the anniversary.
Barrow Creek and Alice Springs
Falconio, from Huddersfield, was shot dead on a remote stretch of highway near Barrow Creek in July 2001. Barrow Creek is about 186 miles, or 300km, north of Alice Springs. The case has remained defined by the fact that the location of his body was never given.
During the interview, a police officer told Murdoch: "I need you to have a think about if Peter Falconio was your son… and somebody knew something about where his body was." Murdoch answered: "Don't beat around the bush because I'm just going to cut you short everytime, okay?" He also said: "I know nothing. I've said this for 22 years. I know nothing. You keep asking these questions. I know nothing."
Joanne Lees and the trial
During his trial in December 2005, the court heard that Murdoch pulled up beside Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees's vehicle, claimed to have seen sparks coming from the camper van Falconio was driving, and shot him in the head as he inspected the vehicle. The court also heard that he took 28-year-old Joanne Lees into his car and bound her wrists with cable ties.
Lees escaped by hiding in outback scrub for several hours before she waved down two men driving a truck. That sequence left investigators with one remaining practical question after the arrest and trial: where Falconio's body was taken, a question Murdoch never answered even as he said, "I don't have information. This is what I'm trying to say to you. I don't have this information."
Northern Territory police said they remain committed to bringing the investigation to its fullest conclusion. For Falconio's family, the release does not change the missing piece that still matters most: the body has still not been located.
