Joanne Lees was thrust into the spotlight in 2001 when she survived an attack in the Australian outback that saw her boyfriend, Peter Falconio, murdered – here’s what happened to her after
In 2001, Joanne Lees became the focus of intense media attention after surviving a brutal attack while traveling with her boyfriend, Peter Falconio, who was murdered during their trip across the Australian outback.
Their attacker, Bradley John Murdoch – better known as the “Outback killer” – has now died aged 67, taking details of his victim’s body to his grave.
Murdoch was previously diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019 and was transferred to a palliative care unit in Alice Springs Correctional Centre, in Northern Territory, Australia.
The couple was driving through the remote outback late at night when another driver signalled them to pull over. According to Lees, then 28, Murdoch shot Falconio and attempted to tie her up, but she managed to escape, hiding in the grass for hours before flagging down a passing truck. Falconio’s body was never recovered.
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Lees first came to public attention recounting the harrowing ordeal she endured with Falconio, her long-term partner whom she met in 1996. They had travelled extensively across Southeast Asia before spending five months in Sydney and planning their fateful road trip across Australia.
After the attack, Lees’ story divided public opinion, especially following the trial of Murdoch, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
During the trial, it emerged Lees had an affair with another British backpacker, Nick Reilly, in the months before Falconio’s disappearance. The revelation, coupled with Lees’ candid interview with Martin Bashir, sparked controversy.
Speaking to Bashir, Lees admitted the affair was a mistake. “I did love Pete with all my heart,” she said, “and when that happened I did overstep the boundaries of friendship, but it made me, like, love Pete even more and value what we did have.”
During the interview, she did not reveal whether she would have confessed to the affair if her emails weren’t caught by police. In a police interview, she called the emails “irrelevant” despite Nick using a code name ‘Steph’ when they discussed meeting up in Berlin after the murder.
Lees was criticised and branded suspicious for her demeanour during interviews and for altering parts of her statement, but she maintained that her interview with Bashir, for which she was paid £50,000, was meant to keep the case in the public eye.
She also addressed other criticisms, such as the ‘cheeky monkey’ t-shirt she wore in the aftermath, explaining it was simply all she had with her at the time. She also denied being emotionless, saying she “wears her heart of her sleeve,” adding: “Well, I do in the company of my mates.”
In 2006, Lees published her memoir No Turning Back, detailing her early life, including growing up in financial hardship with her late mother. She reportedly received a £25,000 advance for the book. Years later, Lees studied sociology at Sheffield University and is now a social worker.
In 2017, she revealed she had discovered a half-sister named Jessica McMillan in Sydney, the daughter of Lees Australian father, who she is estranged from. The sisters quickly formed a close bond, with Lees seeking Australian citizenship to be nearer to Jess.
In her book, Lees, who is now 51, did not share any details about her dad, but did say that she grew up in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, with her mother, Jennifer James, her stepfather Vincent James and step-brother Sam. “We didn’t have much money but she worked hard to make sure I had a happy childhood,” she wrote.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph in Australia, Lees described the reunion as “almost like a mirror” and said it made her feel “less alone in the world.”
In an interview on Nine’s 60 Minutes, Lees reflected on the impact of the tragedy, saying: “Pete lost his life that night but I lost mine too. I’ll never be fully at peace if Pete’s not found, but I accept that that is a possibility.” She even returned to the site of the attack to try to understand the mind of the attacker, driven by her enduring love for Peter.
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