Convicted killer Bradley Murdoch to deliver ‘explosive’ death bed speech as true crime author Robin Bowles addresses her conversations with him

A notorious murderer will deliver an “explosive” final speech from his death bed as cancer takes over his body and he spends his last days in palliative care.

Bradley Murdoch is serving a life sentence over the murder of British backpacker Peter Falconio but reports surfaced recently that he was close to death and had been moved to hospital to spend his final days.

Back in 2001, Falconio, 28, and his girlfriend Joanne Lees were driving about 300km from Alice Springs, when they were flagged down by Murdoch, who claimed to have mechanical issues with his car.

Falconio walked behind the car with Murdoch to investigate the issue when Lees said she heard a gunshot.

Murdoch cable-tied Lees and covered her head but she managed to escape and hide in bushland for five hours while Murdoch searched for her with his dog.

Lees eventually fled and flagged down a truck driver, who drove her to safety.

Falconio was never seen again and his body has never been found.

As Murdoch nears death, true crime author Robin Bowles has revealed a conversation she had with the convicted killer a few years ago.

Bowles released the book Dead Centre in 2022, a novel that looked into Falconio’s murder and involved her repeatedly interviewing Murdoch.

She claims to have sat down with Murdoch for close to 50 hours.

In an exclusive sitdown with 7NEWS, Bowles said she knew exactly what Murdoch’s final words would be.

“I know what they are, and they will be explosive,” she said.

“It’s a shame they weren’t able to be released earlier.

“You can’t sue a dead man, so if he’s making the claims, and he’s died — the proverbial might hit the fan.”

Murdoch has always denied murdering Falconio.

Despite various police searches in the last 20 years, Falconio’s body has never been found.

Murdoch was given a life sentence in 2005 with a non-parole period of 28 years.

He was diagnosed with terminal throat cancer in 2019 and is reportedly in palliative care in Alice Springs Hospital.

On Wednesday, amid news Murdoch may only have days to live, Northern Territory police doubled their reward to $500,000 for information that could finally conclude the outback search for a body.

Lead police investigator on Falconio’s murder, Colleen Gwynn told 7NEWS on Wednesday she wanted to see a resolution for the Falconio family “who really have been through years of distress”.

“I think the fact the reward has come out is a great idea and it shows the Northern Territory see this still as a significant gap here,” Gwynne told 7NEWS.

The NT introduced a “no body, no parole” law in 2016, preventing people convicted of murder from being able to qualify for parole unless they give up the location of the victim’s remains.

Murdoch would have been eligible for parole in 2032.