New lead in hunt for body of murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio

23 September 2022, 11:23 | Updated: 23 September 2022, 12:28

New information has raised hopes of a breakthrough in the hunt for the body of murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio - hours after his mother appealed for help in finding his remains.

Mr Falconio, 28, was shot dead by drug-runner Bradley Murdoch in 2001 who then tried to abduct his girlfriend Joanne Lees before she escaped and raised the alarm.

The backpacker's body has never been found. On Friday 23 September, his mother pleaded for "anyone with a conscience" to help locate his remains.

A possible new witness has now come forward and revealed he spotted a ute similar to the killer's parked "in an odd place" by a culvert and a bridge, 24 hours after the murder.

The new sighting has raised hopes that it could lead to the backpacker's body being discovered. The remains have been undiscovered for 21 years.

The new information comes after South Australian politician, Frank Pangallo, demanded a $1milllion reward for information that would lead police to the body.

"I received an email this morning from somebody who was in the area the day after the murder,' the SA-BEST member of South Australia's legislative council revealed.

"He said he had spotted a vehicle that was similar to the one that Murdoch was using and it was parked on the side of a road near a culvert and a bridge.

"He remembered going past it and saying it was unusual that the the driver was parked in that position. He did alert police at the time but heard nothing more.

"I'll certainly pass that on to police to see if they'll go there in person to check it out."

The news comes after the Daily Mail Australia revealed that police had undertaken a five-day search of an outback well in 2019, as part of a search for the body.

Police pumped 15m of water out of a remote waterhole 1km from the murder scene near Barrow Creek - 300km north of Alice Springs - but nothing was found.

Mr Falconio's parents Joan, 75, and Luciano, 80, have appealed for fresh information to keep the hunt alive for their son's remains.

"We want to bring Peter home where he belongs near his family," his mother said. "Our pain is always with us. He was murdered 21 years ago, aged just 28 years.

"His life stopped on a lonely road - the Stuart Highway on July 14, 2001. Shot dead by cowardly Murdoch, who will not reveal where or what he did with him.

"Peter has a beautiful niece and two lovely nephews who he never got to see or know.

"I am appealing to anyone with a conscience to help me - however small - to tell me where he was put."

Mr Pangallo revealed he had been in contact with the family for the last three years since covering the case years earlier as a reporter on Today Tonight.

The politician has demanded Northern Territory Police offer a $1million reward to tease out new leads:

"It is a last roll of the dice," Mr Pangallo said on Friday.

"His mother didn't want the matter to stay cold and wanted it to be brought into the public domain again.What's haunting them and has haunted them for the past 21 years is not knowing where his body is - and it will continue to haunt them until they get answers.

"It's crucial new information does come forward to put an end to the suffering that the Falconio family have suffered for so many years."

Were he alive, Mr Falconio would have turned 50 this year.

Murdoch was convicted of the murder, but has never disclosed what he did with Mr Falconio's body. He could be eligible for parole in ten years, but will not walk free without revealing the location of the body because the Northern Territory has "no body no release" laws.

Police believe Murdoch hid the remains somewhere in the desert between Alice Springs and Broome, 1700km away in Western Australia.

"The Tanami desert is a vast expanse," said Mr Pangallo. 

"It's believed that Murdoch, after filling up in Alice Springs that night, he would have fled to Broome and gone through the Tanami Desert. There's any any number of locations where he could have dumped the body.

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"But he would have been panicking at that point, knowing police were searching for him. And who knows - he may have disposed of the body earlier, which is why we want the well to be searched near Barrow Creek."

"Murdoch could well spend the rest of his life in prison. He knows what happened. And he knows where he put the body and one wishes that he had some sort of conscience and came forward.

"It's what Mrs Falconio said in her email to me - she had hoped that Murdoch had some conscience and would would reveal what he had done with Peter's body."

"Somebody must know where Peter is or might have some information or recollection that could be useful to police, no matter how insignificant they might think it is.

"Joan, Luciano, Peter's brothers - Mark, Nicholas and Paul – and their families deserve closure after all these years of grieving and uncertainty."