House at centre of famous Outback cold case of missing Paddy Moriarty to be auctioned today – almost six years after he vanished from the Northern Territory town of Larrimah

The house at the centre of an Outback cold case mystery involving a man and his dog who vanished from a tiny remote town sold for $32,0000 at auction today.

Paddy Moriarty and his red kelpie cross Kellie were last seen leaving the Pink Panther Hotel in the Northern Territory town of Larrimah, population 12 – now seven – on the afternoon of December 16, 2017. 

Irish-born Mr Moriarty, who had been engaged in a feud with his nearest neighbours in the town, was headed for his home 280m away from the pub.

Last seen wearing a singlet, dark shorts, a silver watch and black thongs, the 70-year-old hopped onto his red quad bike with Kellie and was gone.

Neither Paddy nor Kellie were ever seen alive again, nor have their remains been found.

Now in one of the final chapters of the mystery, his home went under the hammer when it came up for sale on Tuesday. 

Paddy’s house in Larrimah, Population 7, is being auctioned in the Northern Territory after he was killed in December 2017 and his remains never recovered

Larrimah, population seven, lies 999km north of Alice Springs and 498km south of Darwin along the Stuart Highway

The rundown fibro home in Larrimah, located on the Stuart Highway 498km south of Darwin and 999 km north of Alice Springs, was sold as-is and was expcted to struggle to reach six figures.

In the end it barely made five figures, with an opening bid of $25,000 from one of the seven registered bidders. 

Auctioneer Daniel Harris had hoped its connection to the notorious case may trigger an unlikely bidding war – but there was only a little interest.

‘It’s a huge part of NT history … how often do you get to buy a piece of history for $30,000,’ bidder and Katherine pool shop owner Daniel Reed told the NT News.

‘What do you even buy for $30,000 these days – nothing, you can’t get anything.’

It was finally sold for $3,000 more than Mr Reed’s top bid of $29,000 to a mystery couple from South Australia who bid over the phone. 

Mr Moriarty’s disappearance from such a small community – whose population has now reportedly dwindled to seven – sparked wild rumours of murder and a grisly end.

Stories about Paddy ending up in local handmade pies, or in the belly of Sneaky Sam, the Pink Panther’s resident crocodile, have swirled around the mystery.

Police immediately suspected foul play and installed recording devices on local man Owen Laurie’s home within two weeks of Moriarty’s disappearance.

In 2022, an inquest heard alleged recordings from Mr Laurie’s Larrimah home, which a voice says ‘F***ing killed Paddy, hit him on the head. 

‘Smacked him on the f***ing nostrils with my claw hammer’ and ‘I killerated old Paddy … I struck him on the f***ing head and killerated the bastard … basherated him’.

Mr Laurie denied the voice was his. He had worked as a caretaker and gardener for Frances Hodgetts and lived on her property where she ran Fran’s Teahouse, across the road from Moriarty’s house.

Hodgetts, who has since left Larrimah, allegedly had a long-running feud with Moriarty who she suspected of repeatedly poisoning her plants, the inquest heard.

The inquest heard that she had warned Moriarty off, saying: ‘If anyone touches my garden, it will be the first murder in Larrimah.’

NT Coroner Judge Greg Cavanagh found that ‘Paddy was killed in the context of and likely due to the ongoing feud he had with his nearest neighbours. 

‘He likely died on the evening of 16 December 2017.’

Wild rumours about Paddy and dog Kellie’s grisly demise following their disappearance included being made into pies and being fed to the local crocodile, Sam

Larrimah’s famous Pink Panther Hotel has its own resident crocodile, Sam, and may also be put up for sale in the fly speck Norther Territory town 

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

But he added ‘that offences may have been committed in connection with the death of Patrick Joseph Moriarty and … I report my belief to the Commissioner of Police and the Director of Public Prosecutions’ 

The case was made into an award-winning podcast, Lost in Larrimah, and Moriarty’s house now features on Google maps as ‘Paddy’s Place’.

The house, which is on the Stuart Highway, is in the state it was when Paddy vanished, but weathered by time and overgrown with weeds.

Locals told the ABC they hoped its sale would bring fresh blood into the dying town.

Larrimah has been slowly shrinking since World War II, when nearby Gorrie was the largest army base in Australia.

Australia’s longest dirt airstrip at Gorrie remains, but the Pink Panther’s publican Steve Baldwin said that he wants to put up the hotel for sale as well.

He did however predict the town’s population would ‘explode’ in coming years because of its proximity to the Beetaloo Basin gas fields, 250km south-east of the town.

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