well the verdict is in and Bradley Murdoch has been found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio and assaulting Mr Falconio's girlfriend Joanne Lees.

apprently the clincher was the DNA evidence (which could have been contaminated) and the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict.

whilst i still think there is at least doubt as to the guilt of Murdoch (and i still think that Lees may have had a hand in it) he is a nasty piece of work and is better locked up. during this trial he has admitted to smuggling drugs and carrying guns on a regular basis and in 1996 he was released after serving 15 months in jail for shooting at aborigines who were celebrating at a football match in the remote Kimberley region.

so has justice been done? i'm not sure.

 

Tags: falconio

the Trial of Bradley Murdoch for the murder of Peter Falconio and the assault of Joanne Lees reaches an end soon, the Judge has begun summing up and the court has been adjourned till friday.

i still think she did it... (clicky)

Tags: falconio

i've been following the Australian trial of Bradley Murdoch for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio and the abduction of his girlfriend Joanne Lees.
normally i don't pay much attention to these things, but this one has sucked me in for one simple reason;

i think she did it.

it's mainly just a feeling, but i don't trust her and the lack of hard evidence is all too convenient. i shall summarise;

• if i wanted to fake my own abduction, i'd use cable ties as they're really easy to tie and use tape as a gag too as it wouldn't hurt too much.


• cuts and bruises found on Lees' body after the alleged abduction are consistent with falling over, nothing more


• from what Lees told police, they have surmised that she must have walked past the body of Falconio, yet she claims not to have seen it.


• Lees also stated that the man in CCTV footage she was shown (taken the day after the attack) was not her attacker as he was too old, then later she picked out a remarkably similar photograph (passport size) to the one the BBC News website ran as image of the prime suspect. both were of the same man, as was the the CCTV footage.


• the camper van was moved from where Lees said it had been and Murdoch's DNA was found on the gear stick, yet not the steering wheel or anywhere else and none of his finger prints were found anywhere on the vehicle


• photographs of the area where Lees claims to have hidden in do not match. A photograph on 16 July 2001 showed a barren area underneath the bush and the lip balm lid. But photographs on 15 October showed the same area with more "leaf litter", tape pieces and the lip balm tube.


• Witness Gregory Dick and other employees at the Aileron Roadhouse said Falconio and Lees had eaten a meal at his roadside cafe about four hours before the alleged attack on them. Lees denies this.


• Blood on Lees' tshirt is a close match to Murdoch's, but the trial has not yet heard hot it got there.


• none of Falconio's or Lees' DNA or anything else belonging to them has been found amongst Murdoch's possessions


• the key pieces of evidence are missing - body and murder weapon.

Tags: falconio