Joanne Lees
Joanne Lees, (born
1974), is a
British woman, notable for being the girlfriend of
Peter Falconio, 28, at the time of his disappearance on a remote stretch of highway near
Barrow Creek in
outback Northern Territory, Australia on
July 14 2001. Lees was the chief
crown witness in the trial of
Bradley John Murdoch conducted in
Darwin.
Lees met Falconio in a nightclub in
Huddersfield,
Yorkshire in
1996 and began living with Falconio the following year in
Brighton where Falconio was studying at university. The couple embarked on a world tour in
2000 to
Thailand,
Singapore, and
Australia.
Lees was initially investigated as a suspect for the murder, but later ruled out.
Bradley John Murdoch was arrested and was found guilty of the murder on 13th December 2005.
Initial public perception in some of the
Australian media implied Lees was in some way responsible for Falconio's murder, and as a result she received a lot of hostility during her time in Australia following the disappearance. Lees has reportedly sued a number of Australian citizens in relation to their
slanderous claims about her in the Australian media. The response drew comparisons to similar treatment shown to
Lindy Chamberlain.
An extensive search by Australian federal police was unable to uncover any citizen of the
Northern Territory who precisely fitted the description given by Joanne Lees, nor any person who had ever been convicted of an offence anywhere in
Australia, nor any vehicle that was registered in the
Northern Territory that fit her description. However, blurry vision from an
Alice Springs store's surveillance camera showed what appeared to be a man who may have fit the description given by Lees.
When Murdoch was arrested for rape of a mother and daughter, 12 years old, in
South Australia, the case reopened, and attempts were made to get a
DNA sample from Murdoch to match the blood found on Lees' clothing. After the highly-publicised court case linking Murdoch and his subsequent arrest, public perception of Lees changed. Credibility was added by the demonstrated similarity in bindings used on the 12 year old girl and Lees.
|
Joanne Lees, during front page media coverage of the 'Peter Falconio' murder trial. |
Lees has said that a man had asked them to stop, claiming engine troubles, and he then suddenly took both of them and then murdered Falconio, before she escaped, hiding for 5 hours in the bush. Lees went to lengths to describe her alleged attacker, his vehicle, and his dog. These descriptions were used to conducted an extensive Australia-wide manhunt in which over 200 people were interviewed and several were arrested and briefly held in custody to answer questions in relation to their similar appearances to that which Lees gave, but none were charged as none of them had been in Barrow Creek at the time of the alleged offence. Bradley John Murdoch was arrested primarily because he was found to have left Alice Springs at a time and in a direction that may have led to him being at or about Barrow Creek at the time of the alleged offence. Bradley John Murdoch did not match the descriptions given by Joanne Lees, nor was his description, that of his car, or that of his dog even remotely similar to the detailed descriptions given by Lees. In spite of this, however, Joanne Lees did identify Murdoch via a U.K. web site in late 2002, then from police photographs in November 2002 and face to face during the trial on October 18, 2005. This, combined with the DNA match on Joanne Lees' t-shirt, formed the basis of Murdoch being charged with the offence. Whilst other DNA has also been found to match, it has been found to have been contaminated and cannot be used in court.
As the investigations went on, Lees had admitted to use of
ecstacy and
marijuana, and to having sex with another man in Sydney during their trip through Australia. During the trial, Joanne Lees' credibility was attacked by the defence which claimed to find inconsistencies in her story based on drug use and sexual relations with another man. These matters did not relate to the office under investigation, and were perceived as - although voyeuristically interesting to the Public - essentially irrelevant. The attempt to use drug use as a means of discrediting Lees was further to backfire as it was admitted that Murdoch had an extensive past as a drug dealer and heavy user, and indeed has earlier committed violent offenses under drug influence. Prosecutors alleged Murdoch raped a 12-year-old girl before abducting her and her mother "for insurance" while in a state of drug-fuelled paranoia
"Falconio killer a gun obsessed thug: Police".
Murdoch's defence argued during the trial that the DNA match on Joanne Lees' t-shirt could be due to accidental blood transfer in an Alice Springs
Red Rooster restaurant prior to the alleged offence. Earlier, during the committal hearing, Lees had mentioned that she and Falconio had stopped at Red Rooster. During his trial Murdoch claimed that he had also stopped at that restaurant to buy chicken for himself and his dog - "chicken roll, box of nuggets for Jack... Full chicken for the trip". However, several months after Murdoch's conviction,
The Bulletin reported that Murdoch was in fact allergic to chicken, as confirmed by a medical certificate and dietary requests in prison.[
1]
Lees has also appeared on British media since the event, talking not only about her boyfriend's disappearance and the man who allegedly killed him, but also about the way that she was harshly treated in the Australian press, and by Australian citizens.
Lees also agreed to an interview with
Martin Bashir, which was later televised in Australia, for which she was paid
£50,000. She later testified in court she agreed to this interview to raise awareness of the case in Australia as she felt the public profile of the case had diminished.
As of mid-2006, Lees is writing a book regarding her experience. She intends to go to the UK for the launch of the book in October 2006 before returning to Australia for a publicity tour.She is currently living in Sydney's northern suburbs as has said she has found the local people very welcoming.
*Murdoch, L. "DNA 'ties' Murdoch to couple's van", The Age, October 18, 2005.
*
New Criminologist: Bradley Murdoch gets life in prison for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio in Australia*
The Queen v Murdoch 2005 NTSC 80 (15 December 2005)*
The Queen v Murdoch 2005 NTSC 79 (15 December 2005)*
The Queen v Murdoch 2005 NTSC 78 (15 December 2005)*
The Queen v Murdoch 2005 NTSC 77 (15 December 2005)*
The Queen v Murdoch 2005 NTSC 76 (15 December 2005)*
The Queen v Murdoch 2005 NTSC 75 (15 December 2005)*
Relaxed Lees 'enjoying life' in Sydney sun
