A COURT hearing into the suspected murder of a Huddersfield backpacker in Australia was adjourned today.
The preliminary hearing of a mechanic accused of murdering Peter Falconio, from Hepworth, and terrorising his girlfriend, Joanne Lees, has been adjourned for two months.
Bradley Murdoch, 45, has faced a three-week hearing in Darwin Magistrates' Court, charged with murdering 28-year-old Mr Falconio and the deprivation of liberty and assault of Miss Lees, now 30, on an Outback highway in central Australia on July 14, 2001.
Murdoch allegedly ambushed the couple after dark as they travelled north in a camper van.
Twenty-eight witnesses, including Miss Lees, formerly of Almondbury, have given evidence.
The hearing is expected to resume for a further three weeks in August.
But Murdoch's lawyer, Grant Algie, said the defence still had not received information on scientific evidence to be heard at the next sitting.
He said he might apply to cancel the August sitting and seek bail for Murdoch if the information did not arrive in the next week.
"In the absence of the material being produced, I really do question the point of resuming in August," Algie told the court.
Murdoch's preliminary hearing will determine if evidence against him is strong enough to send to a jury trial.
