Bradley Murdoch, who murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio, never revealed where his body was.
15 hours ago
Simon Atkinsonin Cairns, Queensland, Australia
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An Australian man who murdered a British backpacker in 2001 refused to watch a video from his victim's parents appealing for his help to find their son's body in the weeks before his death, an inquest has heard.
As Bradley Murdoch, 66, was dying from throat cancer, detectives made two attempts to get him to reveal the location of Peter Falconio's body, which has never been found.
The inquest, in Alice Springs, in Australia's Northern Territory, was told that during one attempt, police visited Murdoch in jail hoping to play the video from Joan and Luciano Falconio, but he refused to watch.
Murdoch died in July while serving a life sentence for the murder of the 28-year-old from West Yorkshire.
Huddersfield-born Falconio was shot dead on a remote stretch of highway near the Northern Territory town of Barrow Creek, about 186 miles (300km) north of Alice Springs in July 2001.
At the time, Falconio and his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, also from Huddersfield, were travelling around Australia.
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Murdoch, who was then 43, pulled up beside their vehicle, claiming to have seen sparks coming from the camper van Falconio was driving.
He shot Falconio in the head as he inspected the vehicle, before taking 28-year-old Lees into his car and binding her wrists with cable ties.
She managed to escape by hiding in outback scrub for several hours before she was able to wave down two men driving a truck.
Murdoch was convicted of Falconio's killing in December 2005 by a unanimous jury verdict, and he was also found guilty of the assault and attempted kidnap of Lees.
The coroner's inquest into Murdoch's death was told that on 25 June last year - three weeks before he died - police visited him in prison in Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory.
Chrissy McConnel, counsel assisting the coroner, told the court: "The officers had hoped to play a video of Mr Falconio's parents, recorded with the help of Manchester police in the United Kingdom, for Mr Murdoch's viewing only.
"When officers attended at the prison, Mr Murdoch stated his innocence and refused to watch the video."
No details of the video's contents were given during the inquest.
The hearing was also told that police went to see Murdoch again in palliative care a week later, but he yelled at them to get out, with the visit only lasting 30 seconds.
Northern Territory Police/Getty Images
In 2016, the Northern Territory introduced what was known as "no body, no parole" legislation, meaning Murdoch would not have been eligible for parole in 2032 if he did not reveal the location of Falconio's remains.
Murdoch had always maintained his innocence, despite DNA evidence linking him to the crime, and he unsuccessfully appealed twice to overturn his convictions.
The inquest heard Murdoch died from natural causes resulting from stage four cancer.
There was criticism from Murdoch's son about the treatment his father received, but the Northern Territory coroner Elisabeth Armitage found he had received "high quality and timely medical care both at the Alice Springs medical centre and Alice Springs Hospital".
"He was dealt with in a compassionate and considerate manner by correctional and health staff," she added.
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