British tourists Peter Falconio (L) and his girlfriend Joanne Lees.
British tourists Peter Falconio (L) and his girlfriend Joanne Lees.
KEY POINTS:
DARWIN - Bradley John Murdoch will today appeal his conviction and sentence for the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio in the Northern Territory outback.
The Broome mechanic is serving a mandatory life sentence with a minimum 28 years non-parole period for shooting dead the construction engineer besidethe Stuart Highway in July 2001.
The 48-year-old was also found guilty of abducting and assaulting Mr Falconio's girlfriend Joanne Lees near Barrow Creek, about 300 kilometres north of Alice Springs.
The admitted drug smuggler -- who will be 73 when he is first eligible to apply for parole -- made no admissions during his trial and has always denied murdering Mr Falconio.
Murdoch is appealing both his conviction and the non-parole period handed to him by the trial judge.
His case, to be heard over three days in the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeal in Darwin, is understood to centre on Ms Lees' evidence, with Murdoch's lawyer set to argue it was unreliable and should have been excluded.
The Englishwoman's testimony was a key point in the prosecution case, backed by evidence from the DNA found in a smudge of blood on the back of her T-shirt, on the gearstick of the couple's Kombi van and in the cable-tie handcuffs used to restrain the young woman.
Last year's NT Supreme Court trial attracted international attention, with scores of journalists, authors and members of the public packed into the court.
It was presented with more than 300 exhibits and heard from 85 witnesses -- a dog expert, an art teacher, police, scientists, and Mr Falconio's father.
It is not known whether family members will attend and neither Ms Lees nor Murdoch, who is held at Darwin's Berrimah Prison, are expected to appear in court.
If his appeal fails, Murdoch could seek leave to apply to the High Court.
