Peter Falconio’s parents still hopeful they will find son’s body despite killer Bradley John Murdoch dying

The parents of Peter Falconio say they still “hold out hope” they will find their son despite his killer taking his secret of where his body is hidden to his grave.

Bradley John Murdoch, 67, succumbed to throat cancer on Tuesday after being moved from jail in June to a hospital in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.

Murdoch was serving a life sentence for the murder of Mr Falconio, 28, and the assault and attempted kidnapping of his girlfriend Joanne Lees, now 51, on the Stuart Highway near Barrow Creek in July 2001.

In a statement to 7NEWS on Wednesday, Mr Falconio’s parents Luciano and Joan Falconio said: “Upon hearing that Bradley John Murdoch had died our first feeling was of relief, it’s like a weight that’s been lifted.”

“We are only forced to think about him now that he’s died, we don’t want to let him to ruin our lives more than he already has,” they said.

“The awful thing is our family’s future with Peter was cruelly taken away.

“Today we instead focus on the three children we have left and our grandchildren.”

The grieving parents added: “We didn’t have much faith, but we were hoping Bradley John Murdoch would reveal where Peter was before he died.”

“But even now we still hold out hope that his remains will be found,” they said.

“Finally, we wish to express our profound thanks to the Northern Territory Police for the support and continuing efforts to investigate our son’s murder.”

Falconio was travelling with his girlfriend Joanne Lees in a Kombi van along the Sturt Highway, north of Barrow Creek between Darwin and Alice Springs, when another car stopped alongside them and motioned to them to pull over.

When the Kombi van pulled over, Murdoch shot Falconio in the head.

Murdoch then tried to kidnap Ms Lees, pulling her out of the van and binding her wrists with cable ties before forcing her in the back of his vehicle.

While Murdoch went back to his vehicle, Ms Lees managed to escape and hid in the bushes for several hours before she flagged down another driver.

Murdoch was found guilty of murder in December 2005, and was sentenced to life in jail with a non-parole period of 28 years.

He maintained his innocence throughout the trial and tried to overturn the convictions on two occasions, but both were unsuccessful.

In a statement released on Wednesday morning, NT Police said they remained committed to “resolving this final piece of the investigation”.

“It is deeply regrettable that Murdoch has died without, as far as we are aware, ever disclosing the location of Peter Falconio’s remains,” the statement said.

“His silence has denied the Falconio family the closure they have so long deserved.

“Our thoughts are with the Falconio family in the United Kingdom, whose grief continues.

“We continue to appeal to anyone who may have information that could lead us to Peter Falconio’s remains to come forward, no matter how small the detail may seem.”