An inquest into the suspected death of Larrimah man Patrick 'Paddy' Moriarty has heard secret police recordings in which a local gardener can allegedly be heard saying he killed the 70-year-old with a claw hammer.
Mr Moriarty was last seen on the evening of December 16, 2017, after he headed home from the local Pink Panther pub with his red kelpie Kellie.
Despite a large-scale search in the days after his disappearance, as well as extensive investigations over the past four years, police have found no trace of him or his dog.
Detectives believe Mr Moriarty was murdered and last year offered a $250,000 reward for information leading to the location of his body and the conviction of whomever was responsible.
On Wednesday, Coroner Greg Cavanagh recommenced his inquest into Mr Moriarty's disappearance, after previously holding a two-day hearing at the Katherine Local Court in mid-2018.
Secret listening device captures gardener's comments
Counsel assisting Kelvin Currie today told the court that police placed a listening device inside local gardener Owen Laurie's bungalow about two weeks after Mr Moriarty disappeared.
Mr Laurie had moved into the property after becoming the live-in gardener for pie shop owner Fran Hodgetts in early September 2017.
The inquest previously heard there had been a decade-long dispute between Mr Moriarty and Ms Hodgetts.
It also previously heard that Mr Laurie had been in a verbal altercation with Mr Moriarty about his dog three days before they both disappeared.
The inquest was played eight scratchy audio recordings made between January and June 2018 in which Mr Laurie allegedly appears to be talking and singing to himself.
While it was difficult to decipher what was said when the audio was played in court on a loud speaker, Mr Currie told the inquest that in the first recording, detectives who listened to the audio with headphones believe Mr Laurie allegedly said:
Mr Laurie told the inquest he did not make the comments.
He then said he would not be responding to further questions on the grounds that he did not want to incriminate himself.
In the second recording, Mr Laurie allegedly said:
In the third recording, he allegedly said:
"I killerated old Paddy I f***ing killerated him… struck him on the head and killerated him … basherated him, doof, yes he did, basherated him."
In the fourth recording, the inquest was told Mr Laurie allegedly said:
"F***ing killer bastard, you killed f***ing Paddy up the bum … donged him on the head, f*** him, ooh lay la, you f***ing killed Paddy and hit him on the head … smacked him on the f***ing nostrils with me claw hammer."
In another, he allegedly referred to a body:
"You got to find out who f***ing done it are you? That's if you don't find the f***ing body to find out who done it. What you reckon there is a body somewhere and you want to find out who done it and who did it? I can tell you are not finding out."
In another, he allegedly said:
"No wonder I f***ing belted him, no good, he would have been yee he he to the coppers."
The final recording was made just three days before he took the stand in the first part of the inquest in 2018.
In it, Mr Laurie allegedly referred to a dog while talking to his own dog:
During the inquest in 2018, Mr Laurie denied having any involvement in Mr Moriarty's disappearance.
Prior to Mr Laurie's appearance, his former employer Fran Hodgetts took the stand via an audio-vision link from Melbourne.
She told the court she knew nothing about Mr Moriarty's disappearance and rejected claims that she had offered to pay up to $10,000 for him to be killed by a hit man.
"I can tell you now, I never ever, ever, ever paid anybody to bump Paddy off," she said.
"I swear to god on my mother's grave I know nothing about Paddy."
Witness heard Ms Hodgetts discuss $9,000 payment for job, court told
Earlier, Pine Creek man Wayne Ledwidge told the inquest he overheard a discussion between Ms Hodgetts and his now deceased friend Brian Roberts in Katherine in 2017.
Ms Hodgetts also mentioned that her gardener was "no good" and asked Mr Roberts to have a think about taking on the job, he said.
There was also a reference to Ms Hodgetts having $9,000 available, he said.
On the drive back to Pine Creek, Mr Ledwidge said Mr Roberts told him he had a mate who could do the job for $10,000.
"I asked Brian who the old lady was and he said Fran from the pie shop," he said.
Ms Hodgetts told the inquest she did not know Mr Roberts.
Counsel assisting the coroner, Kelvin Currie, asked Mr Ledwidge if he knew whether Mr Roberts was a person who "takes people out" or was a "Mr Fixit of the dark arts".
Mr Ledwidge said he did not know him in such a way, but later heard Mr Roberts yell at the television while watching a news story about Mr Moriarty's disappearance.
"I was a bit shocked at the time."
Witness thought friend was connected to Falconio case
Mr Ledwidge did not tell the police about Mr Roberts until he saw the missing person signs for Mr Moriarty in Larrimah during a work trip in 2019.
Mr Ledwidge said he had a feeling "something wasn't right" with Mr Roberts because of things he had mentioned about other murders, including Bradley John Murdoch's killing of Peter Falconio two decades ago.
He said Mr Roberts had yelled at the TV when old footage of Mr Murdoch was played.
"'He didn't do it, you have got the wrong man … he's buried under the tree.'"
Mr Ledwidge claimed his personal research showed Mr Roberts and his family had been camping near Barrow Creek at the time of Mr Falconio's disappearance there.
Mr Falconio's body has never been found and Mr Murdoch is serving a life sentence for his murder.
No evidence that Mr Roberts was a hitman, detective says
Detective Sergeant Matt Allen told the court that he passed on the claims relating to the Falconio case to other detectives.
He said he looked into all the other information relating the disappearance of Mr Moriarty.
He said Mr Roberts had previously worked in Larrimah doing odd jobs near the hotel but there was no evidence to suggest he was a hitman.
The detective said Mr Roberts was known as a "tip rat" who would repair old lawn mowers he found at the Humpty Doo tip.
He said it was possible that Ms Hodgetts, Mr Roberts and Mr Ledwidge were all in Katherine on August 30, 2017, or potentially two other later dates.
He noted that Ms Hodgetts had placed several advertisements for a gardener in the Katherine Times throughout August that year, and that the role was filled by Owen Laurie on September 4.
'Psychic' train driver claims two men shot Mr Moriarty
Another witness, road train driver Michael Pangquee, told the inquest a former colleague called Richard had claimed that he and another man known as "Roo Dog" had shot Mr Moriarty and his dog before burying them near Mataranka.
Mr Pangquee said he told police about what he had heard because he was worried he would be shot or blackmailed himself.
He also told the inquest that he considered himself to be a "psychic" but that he had not used his abilities in regards to Mr Moriarty's disappearance.
Detective Sergeant Allen said police investigated Mr Pangquee's claims but evidence showed the two men had been working in Western Australia at the time of Mr Moriarty's disappearance.
The inquest was also shown three-dimensional footage captured inside Mr Moriarty's house after his disappearance.
The vision showed that he had left his cap and hat inside the house, as well as his bankcard, cash and heart medication before he went missing.
A roast chicken that had been purchased in Katherine earlier on December 16 was also found in the microwave.
A baseball bat was also found under his bed.
The coroner is expected to hand down his findings on Thursday morning.
