A few years ago I took a deep dive into this case and found it rather interesting.
I have taken a particular interest in True Crime around the world (I’m a Yank) and there is a lot of information out there on crimes against foreign tourists. Normally, throughout the world, when some local lowlife murders a foreign tourist, people in that country are outraged that one of “ their own” would do such a thing and are very supportive of surviving victims, but this case seems to have brought an outpouring of support for the perpetrator and bizarre accusations against the victims.
Of course, plenty of Aussies believe Murdoch is where he belongs. However, the very fact that there is enough support for the claim that Murdoch is innocent, that his conviction has earned the label “controversial”, is surprising. The evidence seems to be overwhelming. Yet, his supporters continues to pick apart the case seeking out minute details that might cast doubt on the verdict and attack the surviving victim with outrages claims.
Apparently nativism expresses itself a little differently in Australia than in the US and there is a certain animosity towards immigrants from the UK who have been given the prerogative slang term “pommies” or “ poms”. Murdoch, on the other hand, could be seen as the archetypal Aussie bushman/outlaw/hero in the tradition of Ned Kelly, I guess.
It would be a good thing if Murdoch would give a deathbed confession and, more importantly, give up the location of the body, but I’m not counting on it.
