Falconio murderer Bradley John Murdoch getting cancer treatment in Alice Springs Hospital

Convicted killer Bradley John Murdoch is in a ‘bad way’ as he undergoes chemotherapy at a Northern Territory hospital.

15/11/2003: Bradley John Murdoch arrives under police escort at Darwin Airport to face murder charges of British backpacker Peter Falconio. Picture: PATRINA MALONE

Convicted killer Bradley John Murdoch is in a “bad way”, spending one day a week in an Alice Springs hospital getting chemotherapy for his terminal cancer.

This masthead understands Murdoch, convicted of murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio in 2005, is getting weekly chemotherapy in Alice Springs Hospital.

Murdoch, 67, reportedly has terminal throat cancer and was first diagnosed in 2019.

A source told this masthead the killer was in a “bad way”.

Murdoch’s terminal throat cancer diagnosis has led to speculation he will be taking his secrets to the grave.

Alice Springs Hospital. Picture: Alex Treacy

Murdoch has been in Alice Springs Correctional Centre since 2022, and has made a name for himself as being quite handy in fixing broken things.

He is also reportedly known as a master manipulator, and was previously housed in Holtze Correctional Centre – where he worked as a pastry chef. 

NT Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley said the treatment Murdoch was receiving was in line with what all prisoners would receive if it was required.

He called a Murdoch a “long standing prisoner” and said he could not comment on “the treatment of individual prisoners in custody for obvious personal and liability and legal reasons”.

“We provide health services through NT Health according to (an) individual’s personal medical needs, and that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

Murdoch was given a life sentence with a non-parole period of 28 years after he was sentenced in 2005 for the British backpacker’s murder.

He maintained his innocence throughout his murder trial.

Murdoch launched two appeals to overturn his conviction, both of which were unsuccessful.

He was also refused special leave to have a High Court appeal in 2007.

Bradley John Murdoch surrounded by police arrives at Darwin airport from Adelaide November 24, 2003. Picture: David Hancock

His non-parole period is set to expire in 2032, and given his cancer diagnosis and the NT’s “no body no parole” laws, it is unlikely he will be released.

The law, passed in 2016, prevents convicted killers from being eligible for parole if they do not reveal the location of the victim’s body.

Mr Falconio was driving on the Stuart Hwy in a Kombi van north of Barrow Creek with his girlfriend Joanne Lees when a car pulled alongside and motioned the couple to pull over on July 14, 2001.

Once on the side of the road, Murdoch shot Mr Falconio in the head, while Ms Lees escaped into the bush.

Mr Falconio’s body has never been found.

An NT Police spokesperson said Mr Falconio’s missing person case remains open.

“Police continue to urge anyone out there, with any information that may assist Peter’s family in gaining some sort of closure, to come forward and contact police,” they said.