{"id":524989,"date":"2026-07-14T04:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T04:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/524989\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T04:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T04:27:18","slug":"unseen-photos-released-25-years-after-infamous-outback-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/524989\/","title":{"rendered":"Unseen photos released 25 years after infamous Outback murder"},"content":{"rendered":"

The murder of backpacker Peter Falconio and attempted abduction of his girlfriend Joanne Lees still resonates as one of Australia’s most horrific and culturally defining crimes.<\/p>\n

But Tuesday’s 25th anniversary of the outback disappearance also carries unanswered questions for Falconio’s family.<\/p>\n

Bradley John Murdoch was convicted of the 28-year-old’s murder, but he died on July 15, 2025 without ever admitting to what he had done or disclosing the location of Falconio’s remains.<\/p>\n

\"Joanne<\/p>\n

Joanne Lees, left, and Peter Falconio. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

In an effort to reinvigorate the case, Northern Territory Police have opened evidence boxes to uncover several previously unseen photographs from the investigation.<\/p>\n

One image showed a stunned looking Lees in the hours after her encounter with Murdoch on a remote part of the Stuart Highway on the fateful evening of July 14, 2001.<\/p>\n

\"Joanne<\/p>\n

Joanne Lees hours after her encounter with Bradley John Murdoch. (Source: Northern Territory Police) (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

She narrowly managed to escape him and, in doing so, likely saved her own life.<\/p>\n

Another showed Murdoch as photographed by police, staring back at the camera.<\/p>\n

\"Bradley<\/p>\n

Bradley John Murdoch. (Source: NT Police) (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Footage was earlier released of officers’ final efforts to convince Murdoch to reveal the whereabouts of Falconio’s body.<\/p>\n

The jailed killer denied having any knowledge of, or information about, the death.<\/p>\n

Other images released by police included the orange Kombi van the young couple were travelling in and cuts and grazes sustained by Lees during her ordeal.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The orange Kombi van Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio were travelling in. (Source: NT Police) (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

In another photograph, evidence markers on the side of a desert highway appeared to line a dark red stain on the rough bitumen.<\/p>\n

Despite Murdoch being convicted and sentenced to life, the investigation into Falconio’s murder would stay open until his remains were found, NT Police Commissioner Martin Dole said.<\/p>\n

\"Cuts<\/p>\n

Cuts and grazes on Joanne Lees’ arm following her ordeal. <\/p>\n

“This was a traumatic and horrific event for Ms Lees and for Peter’s family, who have now gone such a long time without the answers they deserve,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It is deeply regrettable that Murdoch died without, as far as we know, ever disclosing the location of Peter’s remains.<\/p>\n

“His cowardly silence has denied [Falconio’s] family, friends and loved ones the closure they deserve.<\/p>\n

“Twenty-five years is a significant milestone, and the Northern Territory Police Force remains committed to bringing this investigation to its fullest conclusion and will continue to pursue every avenue available.”<\/p>\n

\"Peter<\/p>\n

Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees. (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

A reward of AU$500,000 (NZ$598,780) remained on offer for information leading directly to the discovery of Falconio’s remains.<\/p>\n

Police believe Murdoch may have at some point admitted his deeds to someone such as a family member or friend, despite his public denials of involvement.<\/p>\n

“There may still be someone who knows something, whether that be information they have never previously shared with police or something Murdoch said to them,” Dole said.<\/p>\n

“No piece of information is too small; what may seem insignificant could prove critical in helping investigators finally resolve this case.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The murder of backpacker Peter Falconio and attempted abduction of his girlfriend Joanne Lees still resonates as one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":524990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[85,67,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-524989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-australia","tag-crime-and-justice","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=524989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/524989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/524990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=524989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=524989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=524989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}