The man convicted of murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio in the Northern Territory has reportedly been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Bradley John Murdoch, who is serving a life sentence for Mr Falconio’s 2001 murder, is said to have initially refused treatment following his diagnosis earlier this year.

But the 61-year-old is now receiving care in Royal Darwin Hospital, The Northern Territory News reported on Wednesday.

Murdoch pleaded not guilty to the roadside execution-style murder of Mr Falconio, 28, and the assault and attempted kidnap of his girlfriend Joanne Lees on the remote Stuart Highway, near Barrow Creek, in July 2001.

He was not arrested until 2003, and was convicted of murder – one of Australia’s most notorious crimes – and assault charges in 2005.

Joanne Lees hid for hours after her boyfriend, Peter Falconio, was killed. Photo: AAP

Ms Lees hid in bushland for five hours while Murdoch hunted her with his dog, before she managed to flag down a truck driver.

Murdoch is believed to have hidden Mr Falconio’s body, which has never been found despite extensive searches.

The former truck driver lodged two appeals against his conviction; both were unsuccessful. In June 2007, the High Court of Australia refused him special leave to appeal.

News of Murdoch’s cancer diagnosis comes just weeks after the death from cancer of Australia’s most notorious serial killer, Ivan Milat.

Milat, who had been was serving multiple life sentences for the murders of seven young backpackers in NSW’s Belanglo State Forest, 140 kilometres south-west of Sydney, died in hospital in October.

-with AAP