OUTBACK kidnap victim Joanne Lees will fly to Australia early next year to give evidence against the man charged with murdering boyfriend Peter Falconio.
Police in Darwin today formally charged mechanic and truck driver Bradley John Murdoch, 45, with the murder of the Huddersfield tourist more than two years ago.
Murdoch said nothing during a brief court appearance in the Northern Territory capital after being extradited from South Australia.
He was arrested following his acquittal in an unrelated rape case on Monday.
Murdoch, flanked by five police officers, sat silently during today's hearing when the charges were read to him.
He is also charged with abducting and assaulting Miss Lees.
Murdoch was not required to enter a plea at the magistrates' court hearing.
Chief Magistrate Hugh Bradley ordered him to be held in custody until another pre-trial hearing on November 28.
Murdoch was arrested on Monday in Adelaide, South Australia, after being cleared of abducting and raping a girl of 12 and her mother.
Mr Falconio, of Hepworth, is believed to have been killed after he and Miss Lees were flagged down by a gunman as they drove their camper van along the Stuart Highway, north of Alice Springs, on the night of July 14, 2001.
Miss Lees, who now lives and works in Brighton, was tied up, but managed to escape and raise the alarm.
She is expected to be the key prosecution witness at Murdoch's trial. He faces life imprisonment if convicted.
Prosecutor Rex Wild said a month-long committal hearing would probably be held in April or May.
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