Police seek arrest warrant for outback murder suspect

Police in Australia were today seeking an arrest warrant for a suspected rapist named as the prime suspect in the hunt for the murderer of British tourist Peter Falconio.

The breakthrough came after DNA taken from Bradley John Murdoch was compared with blood found on the clothes of Mr Falconio’s girlfriend, Joanne Lees.

Murdoch, 44, from Broome, Western Australia, was arrested in August in the southern town of Port Augusta and charged with abducting and raping a mother and daughter, as well as assault and firearm offences.

He is currently in custody in southern Australia awaiting trial on those charges.

Detectives will now refocus the inquiry to scrutinise the activities of Murdoch around the time Mr Falconio disappeared last July while travelling through the Australian Outback with Miss Lees.

A spokeswoman for Northern Territory Police said yesterday’s development was a “significant breakthrough”.

One of the biggest manhunts in Australian history was launched after Mr Falconio disappeared amid doubts over the credibility of a police statement given by Miss Lees.

The 27-year-old was forced to make several television appearances to deny any involvement and was the subject of numerous documentaries examining her story in minute detail.

Her stepfather last night said he hoped the latest development would vindicate her.

Vincent James, speaking from the family home in Huddersfield, said: “I am pleased they have caught the man and that the DNA proved to be positive.

“I just hope he (Murdoch) will tell us what happened to Peter.”

Mr James, who was informed of the breakthrough by Mr Falconio’s brother Nicholas, said he had not yet had chance to speak to his stepdaughter.

He added: “Nicholas was delighted. He wishes the same as us, we all want to know what happened.”

Earlier, Assistant Commissioner John Daulby told a press conference in Darwin that the investigation would not rely on DNA alone and appealed to the public for their continued support.

He said: “We will continue to liaise with other jurisdictions and Territory detectives will travel interstate, including to South Australia and Western Australia, to further investigate the matter.”

Mr Daulby, who described the news as a “sad occasion, with no winners”, said that after discussions with the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rex Wild QC, they could only announce limited details to the public.

But he said Murdoch could not be excluded from the inquiry.

Murdoch was initially named by police leading the Falconio investigation as “a person of interest”.

A legal appeal was then mounted to compare his DNA with blood found on the clothes Miss Lees was wearing the night Mr Falconio disappeared.

A spokeswoman for Northern Territory Police, who later won the right to use his DNA sample, confirmed: “We will be moving towards seeking a warrant for his (Murdoch’s) arrest in relation to the murder of Peter Falconio.”

Mr Falconio and Miss Lees had been travelling on the remote Stuart Highway in their Volkswagen van on July 14 last year, 185 miles north of Alice Springs, when Miss Lees said they were flagged down by a long-haired man driving a pick-up.

Mr Falconio, from Hepworth, near Huddersfield, walked to the rear of the vehicle with the man when Miss Lees, 27, heard a shot.

Before she could find out more she was bound, gagged and bundled into the pick-up, she said.

Miss Lees eventually managed to free herself and fled into the scrub, hiding from her assailant and his dog for several hours.

Aboriginal trackers, helicopters, motorbikes and 100 police officers launched one of the biggest manhunts the country has ever seen, searching an area of the outback twice the size of France.

But Mr Falconio’s body was never found.

It is expected that Murdoch will stand trial in South Australia for the rape charges first If convicted, he could fight attempts to transfer him to Northern Territory province until he has served a sentence that would probably be about 15 years.