THE girlfriend of a backpacker murdered in Australia has made an emotional return to the Outback to find his body, 15 years after his death.

Joanne Lees said as she returned to the scene of the shooting that she wanted to bring Peter Falconio’s body home.

Mr Falconio, a graduate from the University of Brighton, and Ms Lees left their home in Hove in 2001 to tour around Australia on the trip of a lifetime.

The pair were travelling when Bradley Murdoch, an Australian, waved down their camper van and shot Mr Falconio in the head.

Ms Lees, now 43, was threatened with a gun, punched in the head and bound with cable-tie restraints before she managed to escape, hiding in bushes for hours while her attacker stalked her with a dog.

Murdoch is believed to have hidden Mr Falconio’s body, which has never been found, despite extensive searches.

Murdoch was convicted in 2005 of murdering Mr Falconio, 28, and assaulting Ms Lees, then 27, on a remote stretch of highway in the July of that year.

During filming for an Australian television show it emerged Ms Lees now plans to apply for Australian citizenship after learning she has a sister in the country.

She revealed how she met her sister, Jess, who is eight years younger than her, for the first time last year.

Ms Lees, who has no contact with her father, said: “I feel less alone in the world. When wonderful things happen in the world I want to share them with Jess.”

Ms Lees said she had “no choice” but to run from the killer, who had also attacked her, because “it was either run or be raped and killed”.

During the show Ms Lees is seen in a helicopter flying over the murder scene, saying: “Pete’s still missing. I know that he’s somewhere here.”

In the interview Ms Lees said she was determined to find Mr Falconio’s body.

She said: “Pete lost his life on 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.”

When asked by reporter Liz Hayes if she was stepping inside her attacker’s mind, Ms Lees said: “I guess it is a very alien thing for me to do because I’m not a violent person.

“I’m not a murderer but if that’s what I have to do and that’s how I’m going to find Pete then that’s what I’m prepared to do.”

She fought back tears as she added: “It’s because I love Pete so much and I want to bring him home and I need to bring him home.”

Ms Lees also plans to erect a giant silver falcon statue in the Outback town of Ti Tree to honour Mr Falconio’s memory.

It was the last happy place they shared together and Ms Lees said the bird represented his spirit.

HOW THEIR DREAM HOLIDAY TURNED INTO A NIGHTMARE

IT WAS supposed to be the trip of a lifetime.

In 2001 Joanne Lees and her boyfriend Peter Falconio had left their home in Hove to travel to the other side of the world for a tour of Australia.

The couple had met when Ms Lees was 22 and she moved to Sussex to live with him in 1997.

They were just an ordinary, happy couple who wanted to travel the world together and share new experiences before settling down to get married, have children and enjoy their future.

However that all changed for ever on July 14 of that year when the couple were travelling in their orange camper van on a remote stretch of Australian highway, 200 miles north of Alice Springs.

The pair were flagged down by 47-year-old Bradley Murdoch, who fired a bullet into 28-year-old Mr Falconio’s head before putting a gun to Ms Lees’ head.

He then tied her hands behind her back and threw her in his truck, leaving her terrified.

Ms Lees managed to escape and hid in the bush for five hours, not knowing what had happened to her boyfriend, before eventually getting help from a passing driver.

Mr Falconio, a University of Brighton graduate, was never seen again and no body has been found.

Ms Lees found herself at the centre of a media storm as the hunt for Mr Falconio and the couple’s attacker began.

She later said much of her life closed down as a result and the investigation and subsequent attention was devastating.

It made it difficult for her to make new friends and keep existing ones.

During Murdoch’s trial, Ms Lees’ victim impact statement was read to the court.

It said she had been left “sceptical, untrusting, fearful and heartbroken”.

The statement continued: “On the night this crime occurred I thought I was going to be raped and murdered.

“I was extremely distressed when I was hiding as I thought I would never see my family again and no one would know what happened to Pete and me.

“I also felt that Pete was very close but that I couldn’t do anything to help him. This made me feel helpless and guilty.

“I have suffered the loss of the person who knew me the best and loved me the most.”

Murdoch was eventually arrested in November 2003.

During his trial in 2005 it was revealed DNA consistent with Murdoch was found on Ms Lees’ shirt, on cable ties and in the couple’s camper van In December of that year he was found guilty and jailed for a minimum of 28 years.

Murdoch has always denied he was the killer, launching an unsuccessful appeal against his conviction in 2007 and withdrawing a second appeal in 2014.

Over the years Ms Lees has tried to get on with her life, moving to Huddersfield and settling there.

The now 43-year-old has never married or had children following the tragic death of her boyfriend and has lived a generally isolated life.

Returning to Australia for a television documentary has dragged up a lot of difficult memories but it also revealed an unexpected surprise – the discovery of a younger sister she never knew she had.

However her main aim now is to continue the hunt for Mr Falconio’s body and bring him back to the UK.

Ms Lees says she knows he is out there and she will never be at peace until he is found, although she accepts this may turn out to be the case.

POLICE HUNT CONTINUES

LAST year Australian officials searching for the body of murdered Peter Falconio renewed their appeal for help to find his remains.

Northern Territory Police used the 15th anniversary of his death to call on people for help.

Acting deputy commissioner Lance Godwin urged Bradley Murdoch to “consider the heartache of the Falconio family” and give up the location of the body.

He said: “We are continuing to search for Mr Falconio and will do so until he is found.

Last year new legislation preventing convicted murderers from becoming eligible for parole unless they reveal the location of their victim was passed by the Northern Territory Government.

Murdoch’s case is the only one in the Northern Territory affected by the change.

The police officer who led the investigation, Colleen Gwynne, told ABC news in Australia she feared Murdoch would never confess.

She said: “Do I think he’ll disclose? No I don’t.

“He maintains he is innocent to this day and the arrogance of the man astounds me.”

Meanwhile Joanne Lees is planning to set up a memorial to Mr Falconio in the town of Ti Tree.

It is where the couple last refuelled and watched the sunset together before they were attacked.

The site is also about 100km away from where the murder and attack took place.

The plans are to feature a large sculpture of a bird to be called Falcon Dreaming.

The artist Ewen Coates has reportedly been commissioned to create it. The aim of the memorial is to celebrate life and encourage others to explore and embrace the world around them.

It is also expected to serve as a reminder and a warning to travellers to take extra care while out on the roads and to be aware.

Ms Lees chose a falcon for the design of the memorial because she said it represented Mr Falconio’s spirit.