Peter Falconio

On the evening of July 14, 2001, British tourists Peter Falconio, 28, and his girlfriend Joanne Lees, 27, were driving their Volkswagen Kombi van along the remote Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in the Northern Territory of Australia. A man in a pickup truck flagged them down, indicating there was something wrong with their vehicle.

When Peter got out to inspect the rear of the van, Joanne heard what she believed was a gunshot. The man then appeared at her window with a gun, bound her hands with cable ties, and forced her into his vehicle. Joanne managed to escape by hiding in bushland for hours before flagging down a passing truck for help.

Peter's body was never found despite extensive searches of the harsh outback terrain. DNA evidence found on Joanne's T-shirt and on cable ties at the scene eventually led investigators to Bradley John Murdoch, a mechanic and drug runner who frequented the Stuart Highway.

Murdoch was arrested in 2003 and stood trial in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in 2005. Despite the absence of Peter's body, the DNA evidence, Joanne's identification, and other circumstantial evidence convinced the jury. Murdoch was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 28 years. He has continued to protest his innocence.