THE man convicted of killing Huddersfield backpacker Peter Falconio in the Australian Outback is making a final attempt to clear his name.
Bradley John Murdoch, who is also accused of trying to kidnap Mr Falconio's girlfriend, Joanne Lees, on a remote highway launched an appeal today in Australia's highest court.
Murdoch, 48, is serving a life sentence for murdering Mr Falconio, from Hepworth, on July 14, 2001, and trying to kidnap Miss Lees, of Almondbury.
Lawyers for the mechanic and confessed marijuana courier filed High Court papers seeking leave to appeal against his conviction on the grounds that prosecutors were wrong to use testimony from Miss Lees - the sole eyewitness to the event.
They say her evidence was tainted because she had seen a photo of Murdoch on the internet a month before reporting him to police.
Last month a three-judge panel of the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeal rejected Murdoch's appeal on similar grounds, saying DNA evidence of his blood on Miss Lees' shirt established his presence at the scene beyond reasonable doubt.
The High Court, Murdoch's last avenue for appeal, is expected to rule in the next few months on whether to allow the appeal to proceed.
At his trial Miss Lees' testimony was central to the prosecution case, which said that Murdoch shot Mr Falconio in the head after waving down the couple's camper van near the outpost of Barrow Creek.
Mr Falconio's body has never been found.
Miss Lees said Murdoch threatened her with a gun, punched her in the head and bound her with cable-tie restraints.
She told the court she managed to escape and cowered in the bushes for hours as her attacker hid Mr Falconio's body and then stalked her with a dog.
The authorities believe Murdoch hid the body somewhere in Australia's vast interior.
Aboriginal trackers and a clairvoyant tried, but failed, to find the body.
