Peter Falconio’s killer, Bradley Murdoch, in palliative care

The notorious murderer responsible for one of Australia’s most infamous killings is reportedly on his deathbed.

The man responsible for one of Australia’s most notorious murders is close to death, according to media reports.

Bradley John Murdoch, 67, has been taken from prison to palliative care at Alice Springs Hospital, the NT News reports.

Murdoch murdered British tourist Peter Falconio in 2001 and languished in prison under the territory’s “no body, no parole” rules despite exhaustive failed legal appeals.

Peter Falconio and Joanna Lees were targeted on a remote stretch of highway in the Northern Territory.

Murdoch said goodbye to his fellow inmates on June 19, the NT News reports, as terminal cancer confined him to a wheelchair.

An NT Corrections spokesman told NewsWire “The Department of Corrections does not comment on the health of individual prisoners”.

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

Bradley John Murdoch is serving a life sentence with a 28-year non-parole period. Picture: Patrina Malone

On holiday from the UK, Mr Falconio, 28, and his girlfriend Joanne Lees, then 27, were driving a Combi van north of Barrow Creek in central NT on July 14, 2001.

Murdoch – a drug runner – waved them to the side of the road and shot Mr Falconio.

Ms Lees was bound and placed in Murdoch’s Land Cruiser but escaped and hid on the side of the road for hours before flagging down help.

A jury unanimously found Murdoch guilty of murder 2005.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 28 years, before “no body, no parole” laws came into effect in 2016.

Mr Falconio’s body has never been found.

Originally published as Peter Falconio’s killer, Bradley Murdoch, in palliative care