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National
Alicia Perera

Five years after Paddy Moriarty's mysterious disappearance from the tiny town of Larrimah, residents are still seeking answers

Five years ago, just weeks before Christmas, Paddy Moriarty and his dog Kellie, left their house in the tiny Northern Territory town of Larrimah for the final time. 

Neither has been seen since, and members of the remote community he long called home are still searching for answers. 

Posters of Mr Moriarty's face adorn the walls of the town's iconic Pink Panther-themed hotel, and outside his house on the Stuart Highway — which has lain vacant since his disappearance — a large missing person sign advertises a reward for any information that could locate him.

The case has captivated the nation, largely due to the unique setting. 

When Mr Moriarty disappeared on December 16, 2017, only about 12 people lived in Larrimah, which is 158 kilometres away from the nearest major town of Katherine.

Earlier this year, a coronial inquest found Mr Moriarty had been "killed in the context of … the ongoing feud he had with his nearest neighbours".

Those neighbours have denied any responsibility. 

In the meantime, the mystery of what happened to Mr Moriarty still lingers over Larrimah.

"It's not solved, it's not closed, nothing is happening, it's just left in the unknown still," former resident Brent Cilia said.

What's happened since

Mr Moriarty was last seen on December 16, 2017 at the LarrImah Hotel, also known as the Pink Panther pub, where he and Kellie were regulars. 

He rode home on his quad bike and put a mostly-eaten barbecued chicken in the microwave — and then he and Kellie disappeared from the house, leaving no sign of where they might have gone. 

At the coronial inquest into his disappearance, which wrapped up earlier this year, former Northern Territory coroner Greg Cavenagh found Mr Moriarty had likely been killed on the night he went missing.

"In my opinion Paddy was killed in the context of and likely due to the ongoing feud he had with his nearest neighbours," he wrote in his findings. 

"He likely died on the evening of 16 December 2017."

However, he said the cause of the 70-year-old's death "was not able to be determined".

The inquest included audio recorded by a secret listening device installed by police in the home of Owen Laurie, a live-in gardener who was employed by Mr Moriarty's nearest neighbour Fran Hodgetts.

In one of the recordings played to the courtroom, detectives alleged that a male voice heard talking and singing said: "I killerated old Paddy … f***n killerated him. I struck on the f***n head and killerated him … basherated him, doof, yes he did, basherated him".

Mr Laurie told the inquest the recordings were not of him, and then chose to exercise his right to remain silent.

Ms Hodgetts, a tea house operator who had a long-running feud with Mr Moriarty, mainly over his insults of her pies, also gave testimony. 

She refuted claims she had offered to pay up to $10,000 for him to be killed by a hit man, and told the inquest she had nothing to do with his disappearance.

The case was referred to the NT Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), but so far no charges have been laid.

Both the NT Police and DPP say they are unable to comment on the case at this stage.

Now, Mr Moriarty's Larrimah property could soon be up for sale.

Last month the NT Public Trustee announced it intends to administer his estate, meaning his home could be sold off. 

Residents face harassment

With the case still up in the air, some residents have become the targets of harassment. 

Mr Cilia, who is also Ms Hodgetts' grandson, said since his grandmother had returned to Larrimah after leaving to receive cancer treatment, she had been the subject of vandalism, verbal abuse and threatening phone calls.

"There's been a world of abuse, as people drive past the house," he said.

"Also, phone calls … people have … called her and said stuff to her.

"[There's been] vandalism at the shop – people have painted over signs that I repainted over.

"And rubbish gets thrown, [and] stuff goes missing from under the house."

He said the abuse — primarily from visitors to the town, not other Larrimah residents — was affecting his grandmother's health. 

"The way she has to live now and seclude herself is making her feel lonely and depressed, and emotionally in a bad way," he said.

'No answers' five years on

Mr Cilia said in such a small town, the lack of closure about Mr Moriarty and Kellie's disappearance, and who may or may not have been involved, had left some of its residents open to speculation.

Asked what he thought of the case's progress so far, he said "more needs to be done" to determine what happened and bring the matter to a close.

"They need to do something to get it over and done with, because everyone's still lingering," he said,

"It's put people more on edge because there's no confirmation."

Mr Cilia welcomed the idea of Mr Moriarty's property going on the market as a "next step" towards that.

"If it gets sold and fixed up, then it won't be 'that place' anymore," he said.

Kylie Stevenson, co-author of Lost in Larrimah, a book about the case, said despite the coroner's findings, it seemed there were still "no answers" about what had happened.

"There were these recordings at the inquest that were pretty explosive, but there has been no outcome, and there's still these other possibilities," she said.

"It's still this thing that is still very unclear, very murky.

"People are still talking about what might have happened, and a lot of people have their own ideas of what they think might have happened."

Larrimah moving forward

Though memories of Mr Moriarty remain strong in Larrimah, there have also been some big changes in the past five years.

Two of the town's long-term residents, Bill Hodgetts – who was Ms Hodgetts' former husband – and former publican Barry Sharpe, have died.

But the town's population has stayed about the same, with several new residents having moved in, including a young couple and their baby. 

The Larrimah Hotel has been renovated, there have been some much-needed road upgrades, and there's even been talk that Larrimah could one day become a boom town with plans for multiple new resources projects in the area.

There's also less infighting these days, according to Mr Cilia.

Ms Stevenson said the town was trying to move forward.

"I think Larrimah … is one of those towns where people just get on with it and … get on with their lives," she said.

"I'm sure they're thinking about Paddy, particularly at this time of year. 

"But they kind of just go back to killing death adders in their driveways, and doing whatever it is that they do around town." 

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