Kyla
05-20-2004, 06:02 PM
Accused disrupts Falconio hearing
By Sue Williams
May 21, 2004
IN a startling twist in the case of missing British backpacker Peter Falconio, the man accused of his murder jumped to his feet in the middle of his committal hearing to deliver a catalogue of complaints about his treatment.
lees flip
Offer ... Joanne Lees has agreed to pose for one photograph for charity / File
Before shocked court officials at Darwin's Supreme Court and Falconio's two bewildered brothers, Bradley John Murdoch complained to presiding magistrate Alasdair McGregor that he was being forced to spend all day at the court building, even when proceedings were bogged down in legal argument, when he could be in his jail cell.
"I'm back and forth all the time," Murdoch said, from behind the glass partition around the dock before sitting back down.
"It's half past 7, quarter to 8 by the time you get back to your cell, I'm in travel all the time. No one knows where I am."
Murdoch, 45, is charged with the murder of 28-year-old Falconio, and the unlawful assault and deprivation of liberty of Falconio's girlfriend Joanne Lees, now 30, in July 2001.
The outburst won Mr McGregor's agreement that Murdoch be allowed to stay in jail until he was needed in court.
It was a strange end to another farcical day in the committal hearing, which again descended into chaos after the Nine Network appealed against the suppression order imposed on parts of the evidence being reported in the Northern Territory.
That appeal has now gone to the full bench of the Supreme Court to be heard on Monday.
Colin McDonald QC, acting for Murdoch, criticised the television network, saying that if it won the right to report the case fully in the state at the committal stage, this could influence potential jurors. "Their conduct is going to ensure this man will never, never receive a fair trial," Mr McDonald said.
The committal hearing resumes this morning but will probably be put off until after the Supreme Court hearing.
Ms Lees is believed to be impatient to give the rest of her evidence, after telling the court on Tuesday how she and her boyfriend were waylaid on the Stuart Highway north of Alice Springs three years ago.
The usually publicity-shy Ms Lees yesterday made an offer to the media through an intermediary to pose for a photograph on condition a contribution be made to a charity of her choice, and that no efforts be made to photograph her for the rest of the case. Media representatives will discuss the proposal today.
Back in court, Falconio's two brothers - Paul, 34, and Nick, 36 - were clearly taken aback by Murdoch's outburst. "What's going on?" asked Nick in an aside. "I just want them to get on with it. Why can't we do that?"
The Australian
By Sue Williams
May 21, 2004
IN a startling twist in the case of missing British backpacker Peter Falconio, the man accused of his murder jumped to his feet in the middle of his committal hearing to deliver a catalogue of complaints about his treatment.
lees flip
Offer ... Joanne Lees has agreed to pose for one photograph for charity / File
Before shocked court officials at Darwin's Supreme Court and Falconio's two bewildered brothers, Bradley John Murdoch complained to presiding magistrate Alasdair McGregor that he was being forced to spend all day at the court building, even when proceedings were bogged down in legal argument, when he could be in his jail cell.
"I'm back and forth all the time," Murdoch said, from behind the glass partition around the dock before sitting back down.
"It's half past 7, quarter to 8 by the time you get back to your cell, I'm in travel all the time. No one knows where I am."
Murdoch, 45, is charged with the murder of 28-year-old Falconio, and the unlawful assault and deprivation of liberty of Falconio's girlfriend Joanne Lees, now 30, in July 2001.
The outburst won Mr McGregor's agreement that Murdoch be allowed to stay in jail until he was needed in court.
It was a strange end to another farcical day in the committal hearing, which again descended into chaos after the Nine Network appealed against the suppression order imposed on parts of the evidence being reported in the Northern Territory.
That appeal has now gone to the full bench of the Supreme Court to be heard on Monday.
Colin McDonald QC, acting for Murdoch, criticised the television network, saying that if it won the right to report the case fully in the state at the committal stage, this could influence potential jurors. "Their conduct is going to ensure this man will never, never receive a fair trial," Mr McDonald said.
The committal hearing resumes this morning but will probably be put off until after the Supreme Court hearing.
Ms Lees is believed to be impatient to give the rest of her evidence, after telling the court on Tuesday how she and her boyfriend were waylaid on the Stuart Highway north of Alice Springs three years ago.
The usually publicity-shy Ms Lees yesterday made an offer to the media through an intermediary to pose for a photograph on condition a contribution be made to a charity of her choice, and that no efforts be made to photograph her for the rest of the case. Media representatives will discuss the proposal today.
Back in court, Falconio's two brothers - Paul, 34, and Nick, 36 - were clearly taken aback by Murdoch's outburst. "What's going on?" asked Nick in an aside. "I just want them to get on with it. Why can't we do that?"
The Australian