Bradley John Murdoch

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 This article documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.
Bradley Murdoch
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Bradley Murdoch

Bradley John Murdoch, 47, (b. 1958) is a suspect in the Peter Falconio disappearance on a remote stretch of road in outback Northern Territory on July 14, 2001. Bradley is currently on trial in the Supreme Court of Darwin in Darwin, Australia, charged with the murder of Falconio and other assault related charges on Falconio's girlfriend, Joanne Lees. Murdoch has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Early life

Murdoch had previously lived in Broome, Western Australia and worked there as a truck driver and mechanic. He was arrested in South Australia during August 2002 and was charged with various offences, one of which was a rape offence for which he was aquitted. During the course of this trial, the SA courts ordered a buccal swab be taken from Murdoch for DNA testing, to assist with the prosecution.

Arrest

As a result of amendments to the New South Wales Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act, Murdoch's DNA profile became available for analysis and use by law enforcement agencies outside of South Australia. His DNA was found by a North Territory forensic team to match DNA found on Joanne Lees' clothing at the time. Immediately following his aquittal of rape charges, Murdoch was arrested and charged for the murder of Peter Falconio and extradited to the Northern Territory and remanded in custody until trial.

Prosecution evidence

The Darwin Supreme Court has heard the following pieces of relevant evidence during the trial:

  • Both Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees are heavy users of marijuana.
  • Bradley John Murdoch was an alleged supplier of marijuana across Australia, and was allegedly on a drug run to Broome in Western Australia at the time of the alleged offence.
  • Bradley John Murdoch, Peter Falconio and Joanne Lees were all positively identified at the same fast food restaurant in Alice Springs on the night of the alleged attack, which defence argues accounts for the DNA match, as Lees and Murdoch may have bumped in to each other.
  • The maximum speed of Lees' Kombi van is 80 km/h, yet for the times she gave to police to be correct, she would have had to have travelled at 176 km/h.
  • Joanne Lees was having an affair without Peter Falconio's knowledge.
  • The DNA on the hand ties that were allegedly used to tie Joanne Lees has been contaminated by poor police procedure and cannot be used as evidence.
  • Bradley John Murdoch does not own a cattle dog, the dog alleged to have been owned by Lees' attacker. Murdoch owns a dalmation cross. Prosecution have argued that either Lees confused Murdoch's dalmation with a cattle dog or else that Murdoch borrowed a cattle dog for the crime.
  • Bradley John Murdoch does not closely match the description initially given to police by Joanne Lees in July 2001. Prosecution have argued that Murdoch radically changed his physical appearance so as to conduct the crime.
  • The description of Bradley John Murdoch's vehicle vastly differs from the description initially given to police by Joanne Lees in July 2001. Prosecution have argued that Murdoch radically changed his vehicle's description so as to conduct the crime.
  • An aboriginal woman allegedly saw a car speed away from Barrow Creek shortly after the alleged attack. This woman is the only person who can account for the existence of a 2nd vehicle on the night of the alleged attack.
  • Forensics were unable to find any bullets or evidence of any bullets being fired at the alleged scene of the crime, either in the van or on the ground nearby. Joanne Lees had stated that she heard a gunshot, which she believed was Falconio being shot. Prosecution has argued that the evidence of a shot may have been wiped away by police while dusting for fingerprints.
  • Several pieces of evidence, including lip gloss and black tape were not initially found on Lees/Falconio's vehicle, but were found 3 months later. Defence has argued that this means that the evidence was planted. Prosecution has argued that they may have simply been hard to find. These items show little sign of having being exposed to the elements.
  • The doctor who examined Lees after the incident found that she had no head wounds consistent with being punched in the head, as she had claimed had happened.
  • Joanne Lees and Peter Falconio were positively identified at a road house just hours before the alleged attack, completely changing the timeline of events. Joanne Lees continues to deny being at the road house.

Murdoch has been positively identified by the sole first-hand witness Joanne Lees as the man who allegedly attacked her and murdered her boyfriend when Lees identified a photograph of Murdoch from 12 photographs of men during a police interview in Sussex, England, in November 2002.

In spite of not matching either the physical description that Joanne Lees originally gave of her attacker, nor having his car match the description, and his owning a dalmation cross-breed rather than a cattle dog, Murdoch was arrested primarily because there was a very good chance that he had driven through Barrow Creek at the time of the alleged attack on Joanne Lees.

When asked why Joanne Lees originally gave such a vastly different description of the man, prosecution has argued that Bradley John Murdoch radically changed his physical appearance and that of his car so as to conduct the murder in cognito, and that either Joanne Lees confused the description of the dog or else that Murdoch borrowed a cattle dog from someone else to conduct the murder.

Blurred camera footage was captured on closed circuit television cameras at an Alice Springs truck stop. The footage contains images of a person who bears a likeness to Murdoch. The original footage was taken (later) on the same day as the crime, and there are reports that Murdoch has admitted that the figure in the footage could be him.

His criminal trial for the murder of Peter Falconio, and also charges relating to the deprivation of liberty and unlawful assault of Joanne Lees began in October 2005 and is expected to last six to eight weeks.

Murdoch maintains his innocence, and his defence have attacked many aspects of the police investigation, making several references to the Azaria Chamberlain disappearance. Bradley Murdoch currently resides in Berrimah Prison in Darwin on remand whilst facing trial.

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