Falconio murder accused faces rape trial
The man accused of murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio is due to go on trial for rape in Adelaide tomorrow.
Bradley John Murdoch has been charged with murdering Mr Falconio, from Huddersfield, West Yorks, on a remote Outback road in Northern Territory in July last year.
But before he can stand trial for that he must be tried on charges of raping and abducting a 12-year-old girl and her mother in South Australia state.
Because the crimes were committed in different states – and therefore different judicial jurisdictions – Murdoch faces prosecution in each state.
Police in South Australia arrested the 44-year-old mechanic and truck driver in August for the rapes and then realised he fitted the description of the man wanted for Mr Falconio’s murder.
A judge in South Australia ruled that he must face the rape trial and, whatever the verdict, be then immediately be transferred to the Northern Territory for the murder hearing.
Officials expected the rape trial to last about ten days.
If convicted on both sets of charges he is expected to serve both sentences in the Northern Territory. He faces life sentences on both charges.
Mr Falconio, 28, disappeared after stopping his Volkswagen camper van when another motorist flagged him down on the Stuart Highway, 190 miles north of Alice Springs.
He was travelling with his girlfriend Joanne Lees, who later told police Mr Falconio got out of the van to talk to the man.
She heard a shot and never saw her boyfriend again. She said the gunman grabbed her, tied her up and dumped her in the back of his pick-up truck. Ms Lees managed to escape and alert the police.
Mr Falconio’s disappearance sparked one of the biggest manhunts ever launched in Australia, with police using aircraft, helicopters and even Aboriginal trackers to search for traces of the missing man and gunman.
Murdoch, originally from Broome in north-western Australia, was interviewed by police three months after Mr Falconio disappeared but was later released.
