House at centre of famous Outback cold case of missing Paddy Moriarty and his dog to be auctioned today – almost six years after they vanished without trace from the remote Northern Territory town of Larrimah – population, seven

The house at the center of the Outback cold case mystery of the man and his dog who disappeared from a small remote town is being auctioned off 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 was embroiled in a row with his nearest neighbors in the flyspot of a town, was on his way to his home, 280 meters from the pub.

Last seen wearing a singlet, dark shorts, a silver watch and black thongs, the 70-year-old got on his red quad with Kellie and disappeared.

Neither Paddy nor Kellie were ever seen alive again, nor were their bodies found.

Now, in one of the final chapters of the mystery, his house will go under the hammer on Tuesday when it comes up for sale.

Paddy’s home in Larrimah, population 7, is up for auction in the Northern Territory after he was murdered in December 2017 and his remains never recovered

Larrimah, with a population of seven, is located 999 km north of Alice Springs and 498 km south of Darwin along the Stuart Highway

The derelict fibro house in Larrimah, located on the Stuart Highway, 498km south of Darwin and 999km north of Alice Springs, is being sold as is and may struggle to reach six figures.

But brokers hope the connection to the infamous case could lead to an unlikely bidding war.

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

Stories of Paddy ending up in local handmade pies, or in the belly of Sneaky Sam, the crocodile who lives in the Pink Panther, have been circulating around the mystery.

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

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

‘Hit him in the damn nostrils with my claw hammer’ and ‘I killed old Paddy… I hit him in the damn head and killed the bastard… hit 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 street from Moriarty’s house.

Hodgetts, who has since left Larrimah, is said to have had a long-standing feud with Moriarty, who she suspected of repeatedly poisoning her plants, the inquest heard.

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

NT Coroner Judge Greg Cavanagh found that ‘Paddy was murdered in the context of and probably as a result of the ongoing feud he had with his nearest neighbours.

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

Wild rumors surrounding the gruesome deaths of Paddy and dog Kellie after their disappearance included them being made into pies and fed to the local crocodile, Sam.

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

However, he said the 70-year-old’s cause of death “could not be determined.”

But he added ‘that criminal offenses may have been committed in connection with the death of Patrick Joseph Moriarty and … I report my conviction 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 is now listed on Google maps as ‘Paddy’s Place’.

The house, which is on the Stuart Highway, remains as it was when Paddy disappeared, but weathered by time and overgrown by weeds.

Locals told the ABC they hoped the sale would bring in fresh blood to the dying city.

Larrimah has been slowly shrinking since World War II, when nearby Gorrie was Australia’s largest military base.

Australia’s longest unpaved airstrip at Gorrie will remain, but Pink Panther publican Steve Baldwin said he also wants to put the hotel up for sale.

However, he did predict that the city’s population would ‘explode’ in the coming years due to its proximity to the Beetaloo Basin gas fields, 250 kilometers south-east of the city.

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