Murder of Peter Falconio

Murder of Peter Falconio
LocationStuart Highway, near Barrow Creek, Northern Territory, Australia
Date14 July 2001
19:30 ACST (UTC+09:30)
InjuredJoanne Lees (victim's girlfriend)
VictimPeter Falconio
ChargesMurder (Falconio)
Assault, attempted kidnapping (Lees)
VerdictGuilty
ConvictedBradley John Murdoch
JudgeBrian Ross Martin

Peter Falconio was a British tourist who disappeared in a remote part of the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in the Northern Territory of Australia on the evening of 14 July 2001, while travelling with his girlfriend Joanne Lees.

In the aftermath of the backpacker murders, the case quickly attracted considerable public and legal attention both domestically and worldwide. Falconio was 28 years old at the time of the disappearance. Though his body has never been found, he is presumed dead. On 13 December 2005, Bradley John Murdoch was convicted of Falconio's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.