Backpacker murder put back

A court hearing against a man accused of murdering a British backpacker in the Australian Outback was adjourned today until next week as defence lawyers argued to have crucial evidence withheld from the public.

Peter Falconio, 28, was allegedly shot on a remote highway in central Australia on July 14, 2001, by a lone gunman who bound and attempted to abduct his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, before she escaped into the desert night.

Bradley John Murdoch, 45, is accused in Darwin of tricking the couple into stopping their camper van and ambushing them.

He has not been required to enter a plea to the charges of murdering Falconio, whose body has never been recovered, and of abducting and assaulting Lees.

His pretrial hearing, which will test whether there is enough evidence for him to be tried by a jury, has heard only 90 minutes of evidence since it began on Monday.

Instead, the week has been dominated by legal argument about evidence that Murdoch’s lawyers want to keep suppressed from publication, for fear it could influence potential jurors even though it could be ruled inadmissible at trial.

Lees, 30, of Brighton, gave an emotional 90 minutes of evidence on Tuesday in which she told the court she had fought desperately to escape a gunman who forced her into his pickup truck after he apparently shot Falconio with a pistol.

Northern Territory Director of Public Prosecutions Rex Wild successfully applied for her further evidence to be postponed until uncertainty over the suppression order is resolved.

Lees is now not expected to take the stand again until Monday.

Murdoch faces a mandatory life sentence if convicted of murder at trial.