THE man accused of killing British backpacker Peter Falconio laughed in the dock as a detective denied contaminating evidence.

The handcuffs allegedly used to tie up the girlfriend of a British backpacker during an attack in the Australian Outback were put in the same room as property belonging to the accused, a court heard today.

AN Aboriginal woman yesterday said she saw a “big white vehicle” pull on to a remote desert highway on the night a British backpacker disappeared more than four years ago.

The girlfriend of a British backpacker killed in the Australian outback more than four years ago identified her attacker to police in the year after her attack, a court heard today.

An acquaintance of the man accused of murdering Peter Falconio in the Australian outback said today he had never seen his friend of 15 years with a gun.

The girlfriend of a British backpacker believed murdered in the Australian Outback underwent hypnotherapy to try to dredge up more evidence for police hunting the killer, a policewoman told a court today.

“Rod, we’ve got some sheila out here all bloody tied up – want to come down and give us a hand?”

Legal argument today prevented British backpacker Joanne Lees from continuing her evidence in a committal hearing for the man accused of her boyfriend’s murder on a lonely Australian Outback road.

Outback ambush survivor Joanne Lees choked back tears today as she relived the night a gunman apparently shot her boyfriend and abducted her on a lonely desert highway in the Northern Territory of Australia.

A mechanic suspected of murdering British tourist Peter Falconio appeared briefly before magistrates today ahead of his likely transfer to northern Australia.

It was meant to be a trip of a lifetime for British backpackers Joanne Lees and her boyfriend Peter Falconio – but their journey into the red centre of Australia turned to tragedy.

Australian police today dismissed claims that the disappearance and suspected murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio was an insurance scam.

The DNA of a drifter held in Sydney for murder does not match a sample believed to be from the attacker of a British backpacker, police said today.

Australian ambush victim Joanne Lees is to return home to England.

Police have scaled down the hunt for the suspected killer of Peter Falconio, who is feared to have been shot in the Australian outback.

Australian police charging a man with the outback murder of a chef have ruled out any connection with the disappearance of British tourist Peter Falconio.

Australian police say a man wanted for questioning over the killing of a chef may be linked to the disappearance of Peter Falconio.

Australian police have shown British backpacker Joanne Lees video footage of man who fits the description of her Outback abductor.

Australian police hunting a man wanted in connection with the disappearance of British tourist Peter Falconio today released a new photofit of the suspect.

Two British women have contacted police to say they believe they may have met the man suspected of abducting British tourist Peter Falconio in Australia.

Australian police searching for Briton Peter Falconio and his suspected killer say blood found at the scene almost certainly belongs to the victim.

Australian police may have made a breakthrough in the hunt for the man who abducted, and probably killed, a British tourist.

British tourist Joanne Lees, who managed to escape from a gunman suspected of murdering her boyfriend on a remote Australian desert highway says she fears the attacker will strike again.