Patrick Moriarty's murder mystery house in Northern Territory outback town going to auction

An outback Northern Territory house at the centre of missing persons case that enthralled the world has been listed for sale.

“Paddy’s Place”, at 37 Sturt Highway in Larrimah, belonged to Paddy Moriarty, a 70-year-old retried ringer who vanished from the tiny town, 430km south of Darwin, in 2017, and is presumed murdered.

His disappearance and suspected killing was the subject of aN April 2022 coronial inquest and a hit 2023 HBO documentary, Last Stop Larrimah, probing the mystery.

Now, his home will be auctioned – the latest chapter of the long-running riddle.

The Katherine coroner, Judge Greg Cavanagh, found Moriarty died in Larrimah on December 16, 2017. The circumstances were suspicious, the coroner found, and a neighbourhood dispute – relating to a dead kangaroo Paddy was accused by a neighbour of throwing onto their property – was outlined in the report.

Moriarty was last seen leaving the local pub with his cattle dog Kellie, at a time when there were less than a dozen residents in Larrimah. Neither were seen again and six years on, Moriarty’s abandoned property is set to be sold under the hammer.

The Facebook page of the pub, the Larrimah Pink Panther Hotel, shared photos of the campaign board erected the property. It advises the auction is on May 7 at 11am, on site, and on the books of agency Real Estate Central.

“(An) auction date has been set!” the caption on the post says, encouraging interested parties to reach out to the agency, explaining they were just “spreading the word”.

The real estate board explains the property is named “Paddy’s Place”, with “prime highway frontage” on a 4200-square-metre block.

The agents have been contacted for comment. The listing is not yet live.

Remarks on the pub’s Facebook post expressed sorrow.

“Small towns and their secrets (sic) rest in peace Paddy,” one said. Another said the development was “just so sad”.

Respected American film reviewer Roger Ebert called Last Stop Larrimah a “funny little documentary”.

“Set in the Australian outback, in a tiny town with a population of 11 people, the film first gives a picture of a group of wisecracking citizens – mostly elderly – who call this middle-of-nowhere place home,” he said. “They share stories of late-night revelries at the local watering hole (the only bar in town) and proudly point to the lack of a police station but the presence of a pet crocodile.”