Notorious outback killer Bradley John Murdoch died in hospital under the watch of prison guards, to the end refusing to say where he hid the body of the backpacker he shot dead on a remote highway.
On Thursday Northern Territory Coroner Elisabeth Armitage will conduct a one-day public hearing in Alice Springs into Murdoch's death.
Only representatives from the NT's corrections and health departments are set to give evidence.
Murdoch died aged 67 from throat cancer on July 16 at the palliative care unit of Alice Springs Hospital in the Northern Territory.
He was given a life sentence for murdering 28-year-old British backpacker Peter Falconio and the assault and attempted kidnapping of his girlfriend Joanne Lees, now 52, on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in July 2001.
Murdoch had always denied his crimes and refused to reveal the whereabouts of Mr Falconio’s body.
The backpacker was driving along the Stuart Highway with Ms Lees when Murdoch drove up behind them and indicated they should pull over, saying their van might have an engine problem.
Mr Falconio went behind the car with him to investigate and Ms Lees heard a gunshot. Murdoch grabbed her, cable-tied her and covered her head.
But she managed to escape and hid in bushland for five hours while Murdoch hunted her with his dog, before she flagged down a truck driver.
Murdoch was arrested in November 2003 over Mr Falconio's disappearance after a jury in South Australia acquitted him of raping and falsely imprisoning a 12-year-old girl.
The SA case allowed NT Police to obtain his DNA, which was later found on the makeshift handcuffs worn by Ms Lees, as well as on her T-shirt, leading to his arrest.
Mr Falconio's parents in July expressed relief that Murdoch had died, saying "it's like a weight that's been lifted".
“We didn’t have much faith, but we were hoping Bradley John Murdoch would reveal where Peter was before he died," Luciano and Joan Falconio said in a statement at the time.
"But even now, we still hold out hope that his remains will be found."
A reward of up to $500,000 is available to anyone providing information that leads to the discovery of Mr Falconio’s remains.
