The girlfriend of murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio has identified Bradley Murdoch as the gunman who shot Falconio and tried to abduct her on a remote Outback highway four years ago.
Joanne Lees, 31, told a court in the far northern Australian city of Darwin yesterday that she feared she too would be shot after 47-year-old Murdoch waved a gun in her face and ordered her out of the orange VW campervan that the British couple were driving to Darwin.
Murdoch has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering Falconio and assaulting Lees.
PHOTO: AP
`Inner strength'
"I was more scared of being raped than dying, than being shot by the man," Lees told the court. "The realization hit me that he might have killed Pete. I just got some energy from somewhere, and some inner strength."
Police believe Falconio, 28, was shot dead almost immediately after he got out of the campervan after being flagged down by Falconio.
Presumed dead
His body has never been found but the amount of blood at the scene was taken by police as testament to his death.
Lees managed to escape five hours later and flag down a passing truck.
When asked by the prosecutor whether the gunman was in court, Lees looked at Murdoch and told the court: "I'm looking at him".
In earlier testimony the court was told that a smudge of blood on the shirt Lees was wearing matched Murdoch's. DNA samples on the makeshift handcuffs that Lees was bound with also were a match for Murdoch's -- as was a sample taken from the VW Kombi's gear lever.
Murdoch does not deny being in the area at the time.
The day after the incident he changed the appearance of his vehicle, cut his hair and shaved off his moustache.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese