Wolf Creek murderer jailed for killing Brit backpacker Peter Falconio is INNOCENT and could be freed by new DNA tests, top lawyer claims
A BRITISH backpacker's convicted killer "could be innocent" according to an ex-lawyer who claims the notorious Wolf Creek murderer should be freed.
Peter Falconio was travelling around Australia with his girlfriend Joanne Lees when the pair were set upon by drug smuggler Bradley Murdoch in 2001.
Today, an ex-lawyer has sensationally claimed Murdoch is innocent after studying the case for eight years.
Andrew Fraser claims the 59-year-old, who is currently serving a life sentence for Falconio's murder, could even be freed by new DNA tests.
Ms Lees has repeatedly denied any accusations that she was behind the killing, previously speaking of her despair when she realised she was a suspect at one point.
Former criminal lawyer Mr Fraser said he believed Murdoch was wrongly convicted after the crime,
He told : "There is no flesh, there is no bone, there is no part of a projectile, there is nothing there that indicates a firearm has been discharged at that scene."
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His theory was backed by DNA expert Professor Barry Boettcher, who says the wrong person could be behind bars.
He said: "I have had a sense of unease from the beginning and continue to have that unease today.
"If the scenario was as has been described would you get those same results – and I come up with the answer 'no'."
Lees and Falconio were travelling in a VW Kombi van towards Darwin when they were flagged down by Murdoch in 2001.
He told them he he had a problem with the exhaust, but when Mr Falconio got out to help he was shot.
Ms Lees bit and scratched Murdoch as he dragged her out of the car and threw her into his vehicle instead.
Later she managed to escape his clutches by jumping out of the car and disappearing into the darkness.
She hid in the bushes for up to five hours before she ran into the road and waved down a passing truck.
“It was either run, or be raped and killed,” she told when she previously opened up about her terrifying ordeal.
But police were never able to locate Mr Falconio’s remains.
Earlier this year Lees flew over to Australia in the hope of bringing Falconio home.
She said: “I love Pete so much and I want to bring him home... I need to bring him home.
“I know that he's somewhere here.”
Ms Lees has previously spoken of her anguish after realising she was a prime suspect in the case at one point.
The night before she was due to leave the nightmare behind in Alice Springs, police called her into the station for a three-and-a-half hour interrogation.
During the lengthy police interview, Joanne accuses the local officers of wasting time on her when they could have been searching for her boyfriend.
Growing exasperated, she says: "No there isn't any more information and if you just didn't look at me and looked more at catching this man..."
The finger was pointed at Joanne, originally from Yorkshire, after some accused her of appearing emotionless after the brutal killing.
But, it was later revealed she had taken the sedative Valium to help her handle her horror ordeal.
Murdoch was convicted of Peter's murder in 2006, largely on DNA evidence which included a speck of Joanne's blood on his T-shirt.
He has always protested his innocence saying he can't reveal where Peter's body is because he was never there.
He has launched several appeals against his conviction, but Murdoch, now 58, remains in prison in the Northern Territory.
He will be 74 years old when he is eligible for parole in 2032.
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