The mother of murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio has made an emotional plea for information about the location of his body, as the 25th anniversary of his death approaches. Joan Falconio said she hopes to find her son 'in my lifetime and in my husband's lifetime', expressing fears that the case has been forgotten after not hearing from Australian police in over a year.
Falconio, 28, vanished on 14 July 2001 while travelling on the Stuart Highway in Australia's Northern Territory with his girlfriend Joanne Lees. His killer, Bradley John Murdoch, died last July from throat cancer without ever revealing where he disposed of the body. Murdoch was convicted of murder in 2005 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 28 years.
Northern Territory Police have vowed to continue searching for Falconio's remains. A spokesman said it was 'deeply regrettable' that Murdoch died without disclosing the location, and urged anyone with information to come forward, noting that a £250,000 reward remains on offer. The police statement did not address why Mrs Falconio had not been contacted for a year.
Mrs Falconio told an Australian newspaper she had not heard from police in 12 months and was scared her son's case had been forgotten. The family, based in the UK, continues to endure uncertainty more than two decades after the murder.
