An Australian man charged with murdering British tourist Peter Falconio on a outback highway in 2001 would never get a fair trial if crucial suppressed evidence was made public, a court heard today.
The hearing into whether Mr Bradley Murdoch should stand trial for murdering Mr Falconio and abducting his girlfriend, Ms Joanne Lees, in the Northern Territory has stalled while media seek the lifting of suppression orders over four vital pieces of evidence.
Both prosecution and defence fear publication of the evidence would contaminate jurors in any future trial as the territory has a small jury pool with a population of only around 200,000 - half in and around the territory's capital Darwin.
"Their conduct will ensure that this man will never, never receive a fair trial," defence barrister Mr Colin McDonald said of moves by Nine Network television to have the orders lifted.
Arguments over the suppression of evidence from an opening prosecution address on Monday has postponed evidence from Ms Lees, who has spent a little over an hour detailing her nightmare on the Stuart Highway north of Alice Springs on July 14th, 2001.
Ms Lees told the court on Tuesday that a man in a white four-wheel drive truck waved down the two Britons as they drove along the highway on a moonless night. The man then went to the back of the van with Mr Falconio and a gunshot rang out.
Falconio (28) was never seen again but a pool of his blood stained the dirt beside the road. The man then put a gun to Ms Lees' head, punched her, tied her up and forced her into his truck. Lees eventually managed to escape.