Police hunting backpacker's attacker may have found his DNA

Australian police hunting for a gunman believed to have killed a British backpacker nearly three weeks ago have found DNA that they believe may belong to the killer.

The DNA was found on clothes worn by Ms Joanne Lees on the night her boyfriend, Mr Peter Falconio, was last seen on a remote spot of motorway in the Northern Territory.

The Northern Territory Police Assistant Commissioner, Mr John Daulby, yesterday confirmed the sample of DNA found on Ms Lees's clothing did not belong to her or Mr Falconio.

While he insisted investigators could still not be sure if it belonged to the killer, he said it represented the first breakthrough so far in the case.

"It's a small but significant breakthrough in that DNA from a third person has been found on the clothing of Joanne," said Mr Daulby.

The DNA sample will now be checked against a database of DNA from convicted criminals both in Australia and internationally in the hope of finding the killer.

Mr Falconio (28) and Ms Lees (27) were ambushed by a lone gunman on July 14th as they drove their Kombi van along a remote stretch of the Stuart motorway. The English couple stopped when a man driving a utility van pulled up alongside and signaled to them that there were sparks coming from their exhaust.

When Mr Falconio alighted from the Kombi to investigate, the gunman fired a single shot at him. The gunman then tried to abduct Ms Lees but she managed to escape by running into the bush and hiding in the darkness for six hours as the gunman searched for her using a torch and his dog.

Mr Falconio's body has not been seen since and his disappearance is being treated as murder. Blood found at the scene has been confirmed as being that of Mr Falconio.

Ms Lees was able to give Australian police a description of the gunman and his utility van.

Newspapers in Australia have printed a photofit of the suspected killer almost every day since the ambush, but before yesterday's DNA discovery police admitted they were no closer to catching the killer.

Mr Falconio's father, Luciano, and brother, Paul, arrived from England within days of the ambush. At the time they said they believed Peter was still alive and vowed not to return home without him. However, Mr Luciano Falconio flew home from Darwin on Wednesday.