THE SUSPECTS
For months Australian police officers chased down leads and interviewed people – including Joanne – among some 2,500 persons of interest.
It wasn’t until a tip came in naming a suspect that the investigation took a turn. A man reported that he knew who’d carried out the attack, naming Bradley John Murdoch as the perpetrator. It was their first strong lead.
As soon as they could, the police approached Murdoch and got a DNA sample for analysis. And it proved to be game-changing in the inquiry…
The DNA was a match to a sample found on the back of the T-shirt Joanne had been wearing the night of the attack – and on the manacles used to restrain her.
However, Murdoch knew the police were on to him and fled. He was eventually captured in south Australia after committing further crimes. Evidence was confiscated from his car and trailer, which was checked meticulously.
In amongst the belongs, a hairband was found that was taken from Joanne during the struggle that night. ‘He probably didn’t know how significant the hair-tie was and had it wrapped around his holster inside his belongings,’ officer Colleen Gwynne said. A killer caught?
After his arrest in 2003,
Bradley Murdoch stood trial two years later, where he pleaded not guilty to Peter’s murder and the assault and kidnap of Joanne. The trial was held at the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in Darwin, where a jury unanimously found him guilty, sentencing him to life imprisonment. He made two unsuccessful appeals and is still serving out his sentence at Darwin Correctional Centre.
He has since been diagnosed with cancer, but will be eligible for parole in 2032, when he’ll be 74 years old – if he admits where Peter’s body is.