‘Just about dead’: Peter Falconio’s murderer Bradley John Murdoch in palliative care

Outback killer Bradley John Murdoch, who was found guilty of the 2001 murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio, is “just about dead”.

Outback killer Bradley John Murdoch has been released from prison into palliative care at Alice Springs Hospital, where he will be allowed out on excursions in his dying days.

The 67-year-old, who was found guilty in 2005 of the 2001 murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio, is “just about dead”, a source told the NT News.

Murdoch was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019, and has been receiving chemotherapy at the hospital.

According to the source, a currently wheelchair-bound Murdoch returned to Alice Springs Correctional Centre to say goodbye to his fellow inmates.

The killer, they claimed, gets “special treatment for a murderer” – including more welfare checks than any other prisoner – and had been in and around the Northern Territory town on excursions, often accompanied by high-ranking corrections officers.

Bradley John Murdoch has been transferred from prison into palliative care. Picture: Patrina Malone

A spokesperson for the NT Department of Corrections declined to comment on the state of Murdoch’s health or his reported excursions around Alice Springs.

“The Department of Corrections does not comment on the health of individual prisoners,” they said in a statement.

“Additionally, we do not provide details about prisoner movements or escorts for operational security reasons.”

British backpacker Peter Falconio and his girlfriend Joanne Lees.

On July 14, 2001, Mr Falconio, then 28, and his girlfriend Joanne Lees were travelling on the Stuart Highway north of Barrow Creek, about 208km north of Alice Springs, when a car pulled up alongside their Kombi van and motioned for the couple to pull over.

Behind the wheel was Murdoch, who told the young backpackers there were sparks coming out of their van.

As Mr Falconio went to inspect the back of the Kombi, Murdoch pulled a gun on him and shot him in the head.

Murdoch then forced Ms Lees out of the van, binding her wrists with cable ties and forcing her into the back of his LandCruiser.

She was somehow able to escape, hiding in the outback’s sparse scrub for five hours before she was able to stop a road train and get help.

The English couple had been backpacking around Australia at the time. Picture: Supplied

During Murdoch’s murder trial, it was revealed the killer had also put Mr Falconio’s body into his car, before dumping him somewhere between Alice Springs and Broome – towns almost 2000km apart.

His remains have never been found – sparking fears Murdoch will be taking his secrets, including the location of Mr Falconio’s body, to the grave.

“The case isn’t closed until they find Peter,” former NT Police assistant commissioner John Daulby previously told The Project.

Murdoch was found guilty of murder by a unanimous jury verdict in December 2005.

He was sentenced to life in prison, with a non-parole period of 28 years.

“I doubt that any description is capable of fully conveying the true extent of the trauma and terror that you imposed upon (Ms Lees),” Chief Justice Brian Martin told Murdoch at his sentencing in Darwin’s Supreme Court.

“It must have been close to the worst nightmare imaginable.”

Murdoch pictured outside an Adelaide court on November 10, 2003. Picture: Supplied

Murdoch, who maintained his innocence throughout the trial, appealed to overturn his convictions twice. Both attempts were unsuccessful, and he was refused special leave by the High Court in 2007.

The Northern Territory introduced “no body, no parole” legislation in 2016, meaning Murdoch would not have been eligible for parole in 2032 if he continued to keep Mr Falconio’s whereabouts a secret.

Following his cancer diagnosis in early 2019, the NT News reported Murdoch initially refused treatment for the condition.

A prison officer at the time told the paper Murdoch had had extended periods of leave from his job in the prison’s kitchen, where he worked as a pastry chef.