Police in Australia have offered a $500,000 (£238,670) reward for information that could help their search for British backpacker Peter Falconio’s remains.
In July 2001, Mr Falconio, then 28, had been travelling with his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, on a remote stretch of highway in the Northern Territory when Bradley John Murdoch signalled for them to pull over.
Murdoch shot Mr Falconio in the head and forced Ms Lees, then aged 27, into his van, binding her wrists with cable ties and covering her head.
Ms Lees made a daring escape into the outback bush, but despite “continued efforts” by police to pursue viable leads, Mr Falconio’s body was never found.
The new reward has been offered ahead of the 24th anniversary of his death.
Here, The i Paper takes a look at what is known, and what remains unanswered, about the case.
Mr Falconio and Ms Lees were driving their VW Kombi campervan about 300km (190 miles) north of Alice Springs when Murdoch signalled for them to pull over.
Ms Lees said Mr Falconio stopped the campervan, even though she asked him not to. She overheard him speaking to Murdoch, who claimed there were sparks coming from their exhaust.
When Mr Falconio asked her to rev the engine, she heard a loud bang. Murdoch then appeared at her window brandishing a silver gun, which he placed on her temple before forcing her into the back of his van.
Murdoch’s trial in the Northern Territory Supreme Court began in October 2005 (Photo: Handout/Getty Images)Ms Lees said she heard scraping outside the van – likely Murdoch disposing of Mr Falconio’s body – when she saw an opening to escape the van. She pushed her legs out first, then dropped to the ground.
“It made a crunching noise on the gravel and then I just ran,” she told Northern Territory Supreme Court in 2005.
For hours, Ms Lees hid under a bush with her hands tied behind her back. When the coast was clear, she waved down a truck driver on the highway to escape.
Where could Mr Falconio’s body be?
In 2005, Murdoch was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for at least 28 years for Mr Falconio’s murder and the attack on Ms Lees.
He has maintained his innocence and never revealed the location of Mr Falconio’s body.
Prosecutors said Murdoch likely disposed of the body somewhere in the desert between Alice Springs and Broome, covering more than 1,200 miles.
Ms Lees told 60 Minutes in 2017: “Pete lost his life on that night, but I lost mine too.
“I’ll never be fully at peace if Pete’s not found, but I accept that that is a possibility.”
Where does the investigation stand 24 years on?
Northern Territory (NT) Police acting commander Mark Grieve told reporters on Wednesday: “We’ve never gone away as far as investigating it.”
Grieve said police interviewed Murdoch in recent weeks and made “numerous approaches” over the years to no avail.
He hinted that friends, family or acquaintances of Murdoch, who he may have confided information to, could be key to the investigation.
Murdoch walks in handcuffs from the Adelaide Magistrates’ Court after facing an extradition hearing in 2003 (Photo: Tony Lewis/Getty Images)“There may be someone out there that he’s confided in, whether or not that’s family or friends, we just don’t know.
“Like any ongoing police investigation”, Mr Grieves said the aim is to “bring some sliver of resolution to Peter’s family by bringing home his remains.”
Murdoch, 67, was due to be eligible for parole in 2032, but the Northern Territory’s “no body, no parole” laws mean he will not qualify for it unless he assists in the investigation.
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