Dying Outback Killer Takes Secret of Missing Backpacker’s Body to the Grave, Despite Police Begging
Bradley John Murdoch took the location of Peter Falconio's body to his grave, sticking to 'I know nothing' even as police begged for a deathbed confession.
Bradley John Murdoch, the man who made 'I know nothing' his personal motto for 22 years, stuck to it until the very end. Newly released body-worn camera footage shows the convicted killer aggressively denying knowledge of where he hid the body of British backpacker Peter Falconio, just weeks before Murdoch died of throat cancer in Alice Springs hospital in July 2025.
The NT police released the video on Saturday, days before the 25th anniversary of Falconio's murder on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in July 2001. Murdoch, who was serving a life sentence, maintained his innocence even as officers made a last-ditch attempt to get him to reveal the location. 'Don't beat around the bush because I'm just going to cut you short every time OK?' Murdoch told an officer, before launching a foul-mouthed tirade: 'I've thought about it for 22 fucking years.'
The case, which inspired the horror movie Wolf Creek, involved Murdoch pulling up behind the couple's van, claiming an engine problem. After Falconio went to investigate, a gunshot was heard. Murdoch then cable-tied Lees and covered her head, but she escaped and hid in bushland for five hours while he hunted her with his dog. She eventually flagged down a truck driver.
Murdoch's DNA, obtained after an unrelated acquittal for raping a 12-year-old girl, was found on Lees' makeshift handcuffs and T-shirt, leading to his arrest in November 2003. Now, NT police are urging anyone with information to come forward, noting a $500,000 reward for knowledge of where Falconio's body is.
The Good Times
News in your inbox.
One sardonic roundup, delivered on your schedule. Free. Unsubscribe whenever your tolerance for wit runs out.
Already subscribed but we never reach your inbox? Check your spam folder and hit 'Not spam' (or 'Remove from spam') to bust us out of junk-mail purgatory. You'll be helping everyone else too.
Don't open any of our emails for a month and you'll be automatically removed from the mailing list.
Rewrite Article
Select parts to regenerate with a fresh AI pass. Translations will be updated automatically.
Generate AI Image
Creates a sardonic version of the article image using OpenAI.