Falconio suspect's car was 'too clean'

An Australian accused of murdering the British tourist Peter Falconio on an outback highway had an unusually clean four-wheel-drive vehicle when it underwent repair soon after Mr Falconio disappeared, a court heard yesterday.

Robin Knox, a mechanic, told Darwin magistrates' court in Australia's tropical north that he was surprised at how clean Bradley Murdoch's car had been because it was from a remote outback town known for its distinctive red dust.

Mr Murdoch, 45, is charged with murdering Mr Falconio on a lonely stretch of the Stuart Highway north of Alice Springs in the central Australian outback on 14 July 2001. He is also charged with abducting Mr Falconio's girlfriend, Joanne Lees, who managed to escape despite being tied up by her attacker. Mr Falconio's body has never been found. Mr Murdoch has not entered a plea.

The committal hearing to determine whether Mr Murdoch should stand trial resumed yesterday after a two-month recess. The court was told that Mr Knox met Mr Murdoch in the remote north-west Australian town of Broome about a year after he moved there in 1999.

He said he fitted a new exhaust system to Mr Murdoch's vehicle in August 2001 and was surprised by how clean the vehicle was, describing it as "very clean, like it had been rebuilt".

"The car just seemed to be spotless, no dirt or anything under the brakes, or wheels or chassis," Mr Knox said via video link from Broome. "This was quite unusual for a Broome car," he said, referring to the pervasive dust in the town.

The hearing is expected to continue for two weeks.