Where Joanne Lees is now and how she got out of the handcuffs as new Peter Falconio documentary airs
Peter was murdered during an Australian road trip with girlfriend JoannePeter Falconio was just 28 years old when he was brutally murdered in the Australian outback – but where is his girlfriend Joanne Lees now?
Peter and Joanne, both from the UK, were travelling together in a bright orange camper van when true horror unfolded.
As viewers of Outback Terror: The Falconio Murder will see, the couple were trailed for hours by violent drug runner Bradley Murdoch in January 2001.
Then, once in the middle of nowhere, he convinced them to pull over and shot Peter dead.
Joanne was bound with makeshift handcuffs made from cable ties and duct tape, held at gunpoint and assaulted.
But incredibly, she managed to break free and run into the darkness. Joanne hid in a bush for four hours before flagging down a truck four hours later and escaping to safety.
Joanne came under intense scrutiny in the days and months that followed, as she was branded “cold” by critics. She even found fingers pointing at her as police hunted Peter’s killer.
As Outback Terror: The Falconio Murder airs on U&W, bringing with it new expert opinion, we take a look at where Joanne Lees is today.
Joanne Lees in Peter Falconio documentary Outback Terror
Joanne was just 27 years old when hers and Peter’s horrifying ordeal happened. A haunting photograph is shown in Outback Terror: The Falconio Murder that was taken once she was in the safe hands of the police.
Joanne’s light blue T-shirt is smeared with blood and the trauma on her face is clear. The picture is surrounded by smaller photographs of Joanne’s injuries.
She’s also shown being questioned by the police. It becomes clear she was interviewed a total of six times, but the first five were never recorded. Her first original statement was also lost when a power surge hit the police computers.
The investigation relied on Joanne’s memory being accurate, but Dr Jess Miller explains in the documentary why this is wrong.
Speaking about the area of the brain that stores memory, the neuropsychologist says: “The hippocampus in the central filing system. It enables us to put things down once we’ve experienced them and then recall them should we need to.
“When we’re under really extremely stress, there are neurotoxins that bombard the hippocampus. This actually stops the hippocampus from working.
“We’re in this ironic situation where the one part of the brain that we need to make sense of a traumatic incident is affected by the traumatic incident.”
‘I’ve been trying to forget’
She adds: “We’re asking someone to keep something in the forefront of their minds something that terrorises them. That threat response actually stops us from being able to access the memories we need to that’s helpful for the investigation.”
Visibly distressed, Joanne is shown telling a police officer: “You’re actually trying to make me remember and I’ve been trying to forget this for quite a while now!”
Joanne was initially under suspicion. But police ruled her out as an innocent victim.
How did Joanne Lees get out of the handcuffs?
The homemade handcuffs used to bound Joanne’s hands behind her back are also shown in Outback Terror: The Falconio Murder. Murdoch had constructed them out of black cable ties and duct tape. They are described as “unnecessary” in the documentary.
Cathy Canning-Mello, a former FBI criminal profiler, says: “I’ve seen a lot of handcuffs in my work and have never seen any handcuffs constructed like this. It’s not necessary to have all this tape and three separate sets of cable ties.
“It’s really reflective of his sexually deviant fantasies.”
In 2005, Joanne demonstrated at Murdoch’s murder trial how she moved her bound hands from her back to her front. Joanne sat on the floor of a packed courtroom and moved her hands, that were tied at the wrists with a man’s tie, under her bottom and feet to her front.
It took one or two seconds. Murdoch was said to have starred at Joanne as she did the demonstration.
The court also heard how Joanne had used her lip balm to loosen the painfully tight restraints. She bit through the black tape while hiding in the bush.
Police officers later found the lip balm container and two pieces of duct tape at the scene.
Joanne’s hands were still bound when she flagged down a passing road train for help – they were just not as tight as before.
Rex Wild QC told Northern Territory Supreme Court in Darwin that driver Vince Millar came to her aid. Mr Wild said: “He pulls her into the truck and into his arms, still with her hands tied.
“She was rescued by Vince Millar and the road train.”
Where is Joanne Lees now?
Joanne, who is from Yorkshire, initially moved back to the UK following Peter’s murder. The former travel agent enrolled at the University of Sheffield and studied sociology.
Once she had graduated, Joanne embarked on a career as a social worker. She worked with disabled adults for the council in Huddersfield.
But Peter was constantly on her mind and, with his body never recovered, she felt compelled to return to Australia.
In 2017, Joanne appeared on Australia’s 60 Minutes. She admitted: “I didn’t want to be living in England in my old age thinking that I could have done more.”
Joanne was seen in the current affairs show flying over the outback in a helicopter. Speaking about her decision to return to the scene of the crime, Joanne said: “It’s because I love Pete so much and I want to bring him home and I need to bring him home.”
Joanne’s secret sister
Joanne also revealed in 60 Minutes that she had make a very welcome discovery while in Australia. She explained how she would be applying for Australian citizenship after discovering her half sister called Jess.
Jess is eight years younger than Joanne and they share the same father, who is Australian.
Joanne said: “I have a strong connection to Australia because my father is Australia. Although my father’s not been in my life, I’ve always been aware of who he is and his nationality.”
Today, Joanne is 52 years old. She does not have a public presence on social media, however, it appears from LinkedIn she is still working as a social worker and lives in Sydney.
