Bradley Murdoch's life behind bars after murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio

To Bradley John Murdoch's family, he was known as "proud Poppy" and a "gentle giant with a heart of gold". 

To those who knew him in prison, the convicted murderer was a "lone wolf", a skilled mechanic and a master in manipulation. 

And to the loved ones of Peter Falconio, Murdoch is the monster who ruined their lives. 

As the world comes to grips with Murdoch's death from terminal cancer this week, details are emerging about what the 67-year-old killer was like behind bars. 

Murdoch died on Tuesday night at Alice Springs Hospital's palliative care unit. 

He was serving a life prison sentence for fatally shooting 28-year-old British backpacker Peter Falconio, near the remote Northern Territory town of Barrow Creek in 2001. 

Murdoch was also convicted of assaulting and trying to kidnap Mr Falconio's girlfriend Joanne Lees, tying her wrists with cable ties before she escaped into bushland. 

Murdoch never revealed the location of Mr Falconio's body, which authorities believe could be anywhere between Alice Springs and Broome.

The 28-year-old's parents have never been able to bury their son.

Twenty-four years ago, the brutal and unprovoked nature of Murdoch's attack on the side of the Stuart Highway prompted intense international media attention and made tourists and truck drivers look over their shoulders on Australia's outback roads.

His death has cast a spotlight on the case once more, but little is known about the man's character behind bars. 

Murdoch spent more than 20 years inside correctional centres in Alice Springs and Darwin, alongside some of the NT's most hardened criminals.

Zak Grieve, who served 12 years in Darwin's Berrimah and Holtze prisons, described Murdoch as a "lone wolf" who expected special treatment from prison guards.  

He recalled an incident in 2014 when the Australian horror film Wolf Creek played on free-to-air television inside the Darwin Correctional Centre. 

Grieve said Murdoch was surprised to learn the film was loosely based on his murder of Mr Falconio and attempted kidnapping of Ms Lees.

"He watched it and he was f***ing gutted," Grieve said. 

Grieve said Murdoch later let him borrow a copy of Ms Lees's biography, which he kept in his prison cell.

He also said Murdoch manipulated prison guards and inmates by sharing personal information behind their backs.  

"It didn't matter whether you were a prisoner or an officer, if he could use you to gain something, he'd give you up in a heartbeat," he said. 

One former prison guard, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, agreed that Murdoch could be calculating. 

"If he got jealous, he could set things up in a way that would cause suspicion on another prisoner," the former guard said. 

He said Murdoch was popular with other correctional officers who appreciated his dry sense of humour and work ethic. 

An experienced bush mechanic, Murdoch had a knack for trade skills and was known for sharing his expertise with other prisoners.

He also had a reputation as a decent cook while on kitchen duty, baking desserts for correctional officers on Christmas Day. 

But Murdoch's charms only went so far. 

"If you were a female officer, he hated your guts … but if you were a male officer, he'd try and get into your good books," Grieve said. 

Before his arrest for Mr Falconio's murder, Murdoch had faced charges of abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl and her mother in South Australia, but was ultimately acquitted.

He had also served jail time in Western Australia for shooting at a crowd of Aboriginal football fans in Fitzroy Crossing.

The sentencing judge at the time said Murdoch fired up to 10 rounds during "a fit of rage", and that it was clear he had "a long-standing hatred of Aborigines". 

Gerry McCarthy, who was appointed NT corrections minister in 2009, said Murdoch was mostly well-behaved in prison. 

"He was a high-profile prisoner, and he was listed as high security because of his ingenuity," he said. 

"He was a very intelligent, intuitive person who could operate lots of equipment and machines."

In 2020, Murdoch gave evidence at a coronial inquest into the death of Darwin inmate Christopher Malyschko, who died from asphyxiation after using synthetic cannabis, known as kronic. 

Murdoch told the inquest he condemned the use of the drug, and said he'd warned prisoners "someone's going to die from this" just days before Malyschko died.

While Murdoch said he had never used kronic, he'd previously worked as a truck driver and drug smuggler in the outback, using amphetamines to stay awake on the road. 

The common view is Murdoch was reserved in prison, and even those on his good side never knew the real him. 

"I think a lot of the prisoners were a bit intimidated by him, and felt that he was a pretty tough sort of fellow," the former prison guard told the ABC.

On multiple occasions, the officer said he probed Murdoch for answers about what happened on that night in 2001, but to no avail.

"I made a joke with him when he first came in, with the idea of trying to get his trust and breach the truth … but he never gave any indication whatsoever of the truth behind what happened," he said. 

Uncooperative until the end, Murdoch has now taken his secrets to his grave. 

For Mr Falconio's family, their quest for answers continues.