The "outback killer" who murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio in what was considered one of the most high-profile and terrifying Australian crimes has died aged 67.
Bradley John Murdoch took to the grave the secret of where he hid the British man's body, unwavering in his refusal to admit his guilt.
The 67-year-old, variously described as a murderer, rapist, bigot and a violent psychopath, died in custody on Tuesday night, two decades after he was found guilty of the crime.
It was just days after Falconio's father, Luciano, pleaded for the killer to reveal where he disposed of his son's remains.
Luciano told News Corp he did not "wish anybody dead" while processing the news of the viscous killer's death after battling a terminal illness.
"I don't wish anybody dead because you have only got one life and I think if you've been given that gift of life," he said.
"I don't even know what to say."
Falconio was 28 when he disappeared while travelling alongside his girlfriend Joanne Lees on a remote highway in the Northern Territory of Australia in 2001.
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|Mr Falconio was travelling alongside his girlfriend, Ms Lees in the Northern Territory of Australia
The couple, from Yorkshire, were ambushed in their camper van by Murdoch on the Stuart Highway.
Murdoch was convicted four years after the killing and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for at least 28 years.
The murderer was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019 and had recently been moved into a palliative care hospital from prison with a spokesman from the Northern Territory Department of Corrections confirming that Murdoch had died there.
"The death will be subject to investigation by the Northern Territory Coroner," the spokesman added.
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|Peter's van
Falconio and Lees were driving near the tiny town of Barrow Creek when Murdoch pulled up beside them and claimed he had seen sparks coming from the van.
Murdoch then shot Falconio in the head, before binding Lees' wrists with cable ties and forcing her into the van.
Lees escaped after being assaulted and hid for roughly five hours before flagging down a passing truck.
During Murdoch's trial, prosecutors argued the killer disposed of Falconio's body in the vast desert between Alice Springs and Broome in Western Australia - covering more than 1,200 miles.
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|British travellers Peter Falconio and his girlfriend Joanne Lees
Falconio's body has never been found.
Luciano further told News Corp: "I wish (Murdoch) left something for me to find him."
He added that he frequently thought about his son, sometimes "every hour" of the day.
The father said the "sadness is always there" but it had hardened him over time.
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|John Murdoch is escorted, in handcuffs, from the Adelaide Magistrates' Court after facing an extradition hearing November 13, 2003
Luciano lives with his wife Joan in Hepworth, roughly five miles from Lees in Huddersfield.
While the pair do not talk often anymore, Luciano said: "If I need anything, I can call."