JOANNE LEES made headlines after her boyfriend was shot dead in the Australian outback almost 20 years ago.
So what do we know about the British woman who survived an ambush by a stranger and narrowly escaped with her life?

Who is Joanne Lees?

Joanne Lees is a British woman who was the girlfriend of murder victim Peter Falconio.
Originally from Yorkshire, she became the centre of a world-famous murder investigation when she was found in the Australian outback claiming to have been abducted by a drifter.
She said she had been kidnapped, drugged, and raped by a man but soon became a prime suspect in her boyfriend's murder after claims she appeared "emotionless" after the incident.
But it was later revealed she had taken the sedative Valium to help her handle her horror ordeal.
It wasn't until four years later that drug runner Bradley Murdoch was locked up for the crime.
Lees and Falconio were both 28 when they were travelling in a VW Kombi van towards Darwin.
The pair were flagged down by Murdoch who told them he had a problem with his exhaust.
Lees managed to escape after Falconio was shot in the head.
She hid in bushes for five hours, before running into the road to wave down a passing truck.
She later said: "It was either run, or be raped and killed."

English tourists Peter Falconio and girlfriend Joanne Lees before Peter was murderedCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

Lees managed to escape the killer's clutches by hiding in bushesCredit: Ross Parry

Where is Joanne Lees now?

Lees is said to be living in a two-bedroom terrace house in her hometown of Huddersfield.
She says she lives an isolated life as a social worker at the Directorate for Children and Young People for Kirklees Council.
She has had various jobs – including working at a travel agency and supporting the disabled after returning to college to study sociology.
The 46-year-old has never married or had children following the tragic death of her boyfriend.
In 2017, she flew her back to Australia to where her boyfriend was shot in the hopes of finding his body and bringing him home to lay to rest.
During the search, she discovered that she had a "mirror-image" sister called Jess.
Jess is the daughter of her estranged Australian dad.
Less most recently said she wanted to apply to become an Australian citizen.

What is the Channel 4 series Murder in the Outback?

In one of the most detailed re-investigations ever mounted, a Channel 4 documentary series, Murder in the Outback, revisits this notorious case.
Beginning on Sunday and running over four consecutive nights, it follows the campaign of former lawyer Andrew Fraser to get Murdoch’s conviction overturned.
It features previously unseen footage of Joanne being confronted by detectives over seeming inconsistencies in her version of the attack and raises a number of fascinating unanswered questions about a case which continues to haunt many Australians.

Lees pictured in a helicopter flying over the area where she was abducted and her boyfriend shot deadCredit: The Joanne Lees Story / 60 Minutes

Lees discovered she had an Australian sister called Jess while searching for the body of her murdered boyfriendCredit: 9 News

Joanne Lees was at one point treated as a suspect in her boyfriend's disappearanceCredit: 9 News