THE mother of murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio told of her pain as hopes were dashed his remains had been found after 22 years.
Reports — said to have been confirmed by multiple sources — suggested bones were discovered near Alice Springs in the Australian Outback.
The mother of murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio told of her painCollect
But Northern Territory police later categorically denied any find.
Peter’s mum Joan, 75, from Hepworth, West Yorks, said: “It’s been so many years and we have had our hopes raised so many times that we never really expect to get closure.
“It’s difficult for us when this happens.
“We’ll never give up hope Peter will be found.”
Bradley Murdoch, a 6ft 5in drug runner, was jailed for 28 years for killing Peter, 28, and trying to abduct his girlfriend Joanne Lees, then 27, in June 2001.
Fiend Murdoch pulled their orange VW campervan over on a lonely outback road in the middle of the night pretending he had spotted a mechanical fault.
The cold-blooded killer shot Peter dead after coaxing him out of the van to check the fault then tied up terrified Joanne and bundled her into the back of his Toyota Land Cruiser pick-up.
But she managed to escape and fled into the bush, hiding in the dark as he hunted for until he gave up and fled with Peter’s body.
