Backpacker 'could be buried close to hijack scene'
Police investigating the suspected murder of a British backpacker believe his body may be buried close to the remote Outback highway where he was last seen alive, a newspaper reported today.
Peter Falconio is believed to have been shot on July 14 after he and his British girlfriend Joanne Lees stopped their camper van because another motorist signalled to them it was trailing sparks.
Ms Lees told police that when Mr Falconio went to speak to the man she heard a shot and never saw her boyfriend again. One of Australia’s largest manhunts failed to find either Mr Falconio or his attacker.
The attack happened in desolate scrub bordering a highway north of the central Australian town of Alice Springs.
Ms Lees said that after the shooting, the gunman tied her up but she managed to escape and raise the alarm.
Quoting an unnamed police source, the Melbourne tabloid the Sunday Herald Sun said police in northern Australia had used instrument readings to determine the couple’s camper van was driven about four miles after the attack.
The vehicle was later found close to the scene of the shooting.
The source said police had been able to calculate the distance because the couple had kept scrupulous records of the distances they travelled.
The report also said blood was found on the camper van’s steering wheel and on Ms Lees’ clothes, but it was not known whether it was from Mr Falconio or the gunman.
The source said police had enough DNA evidence to convict the gunman if they find him.
