The Peter Falconio Investigation: Needles, Hay and DNA

Abstract:     
Taskforce Regulus, the team of Northern Territory police investigating Peter Falconio's disappearance in July 2001, faced considerable challenges due to the apparently random nature of the crime, its isolated location and doubts about the lone eyewitness's account. The investigators' best lead, a DNA profile that was probably the culprit's but wasn't on any DNA database, could only be investigated via a lengthy and uncertain methodology. Several hundred consensual DNA samples were obtained during the Taskforce's year-long inquiry, but this was only a fraction of its list of persons of interest and didn't include the man eventually convicted of Falconio's murder. The Taskforce's reluctance to seek DNA samples more aggressively and from a wider group of potential suspects appears due, in part, to concerns about legality.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 18

Keywords: Falconio, Australia, DNA, Northern Territory

JEL Classification: K14

Accepted Paper Series