PADDY MORIARTY MURDER THE OUTBACK AGATHA CHRISTIE
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF PADDY AND HIS DOG KELLIE HAS THE WORLD FASCINATED
When asked to describe the bush town of Larrimah, NT, writer Caroline Graham explains: “One of the things to know about Larrimah is that everything is kind of the same every day of the year.”
Except for December 16, 2017, when one of the town’s residents, Paddy Moriarty, and his kelpie dog, Kellie, disappeared. The hunt to discover what happened to Paddy, 70, and unravel the peculiar mystery has put the town on the map and attracted worldwide attention.
Caroline and fellow writer Kylie Stevenson are the pair behind the new book, Larrimah,
which explores the characters of the town, the events of Paddy’s disappearance and the many scenarios of what may have happened to him.
Caroline and Kylie also created the Walkley Awardwinning 2018 podcast series, Lost in Larrimah.
The tale involves smalltown feuds among a population of 12, contentious personalities, extreme allegations and the unforgiving landscape of the
Aussie outback. According to the Northern Territory Police, it’s also a tale of murder. “People keep describing it as being like an ‘Outback Agatha Christie tale’, and that sums it up,” Caroline says. “Everything took place in this remote place, and yet there’s not a shred of evidence to follow up. Paddy literally just disappeared.” Irish-born Paddy set sail for Australia in the 1960s and lived in Larrimah, about 500km south of Darwin, for over a decade. He was a man of routine – every day he went for a walk to the local dump, and later went to the Larrimah Pink Panther Hotel for eight beers. Once quenched, he would get on his quad bike with Kellie for the short trip home, only a few hundred metres away, to have dinner. Paddy had been engaged in bitter feuds with some locals and was known to fight with truck drivers who were passing through.
“He was quite a polarising person,” Caroline explains. “Some people claimed he was their best mate and would give you his last dollar if you needed it, but there were others he fought with. He was a larrikin, but we started to suspect there were some people on the receiving end of his jokes who didn’t find them funny at all.”
In the early evening of December 16, Paddy finished his beers, said goodnight to the pub owner, Barry Sharpe, and then took the two-minute journey home. It’s the lastknown sighting. Three days later, when Paddy hadn’t been to the pub, a concerned Barry notified police. When cops arrived at his house, they found Paddy’s wallet, keys and hat, along with his dinner, all untouched on the kitchen table, but no sign of Paddy or Kellie.
“Everything that was important to him was there, completely undisturbed, and there was no evidence of foul play or anyone else having been there. It was almost like Paddy and Kellie had stepped outside for a moment, never to be seen again,” Caroline says.
Police examined a range of possible scenarios, including
that the pair fell down one of the many sinkholes in the area or he was bitten by a snake. Searches of local dams, water tanks, the dump and helicopter surveillance of the region also found nothing. As Caroline and Kylie began investigating the case for their podcast and book, a new take on the case emerged as they spoke to the locals.
“Everyone in town has their own version and kept coming up with so much conflicting information,” she explains. “People were openly pointing their fingers in all directions and told us all sorts of things, and some things are more likely than others. But I agree with the police that he met with foul play.”
An inquest into Paddy’s
‘IT WAS LIKE PADDY AND KELLIE STEPPED OUTSIDE FOR A MOMENT, NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN’
disappearance was held in 2018. Counsel assisting the coroner stated it was “likely someone in Larrimah has evidence that may be helpful in establishing what happened to Paddy”. A full finding is yet to be handed down. It has also not been ruled out that the culprit could be someone who was passing through the town.
Earlier this year,
NT Police announced a reward of $250,000 for information leading to the location of Paddy’s body and the conviction of the person or people responsible for his death.
Detective sergeant Matthew Allen has been leading the investigation and said, “Somebody knows what happened. A 70-year-old man and his dog don’t just disappear from a tiny outback town.”
Caroline and Kylie have already been approached about turning their book into a TV drama, but Caroline believes caution needs to be taken.
“This is still an ongoing case and we don’t want to jeopardise an eventual trial, if it ever heads that way,” she warns. “It’s possible Paddy’s remains might be found one day.”
• Anyone with information about the Paddy Moriarty case should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.