Pie cook Fran Hodgetts enjoying being ‘a star’ after Netflix doco’s release

A tiny outback town is again in the spotlight due to renewed interest in the case of an Irish immigrant who is believed to have been killed as a result of a dispute with one of his 11 neighbours.

Relatives of a woman at the centre of one of Australia’s most baffling murder mysteries — now a blockbuster Netflix documentary — say the prime suspect in the case left her fearful and intimidated.

Sue Gilbert, and her son Kade, who live in Gladstone Park, said they were pleased with the way the show Last Stop Larrimah portrayed their mum and grandmother, Fran Hodgetts, as “it didn’t just centre on her being the main suspect.”

Ms Hodgetts, a pie cook from the Northern Territory hamlet of Larrimah, and her former gardener, Owen Laurie, have been the prime suspects in the suspected killing of Irish immigrant Paddy Moriarty since he disappeared with his dog in December 2017.

Sue Gilbert and her son Kade say their mum and grandmother, Fran Hodgetts, is enjoying her new found fame after appearing extensively in popular new Netflix crime documentary Last Stop Larrimah. Picture: Jason Edwards

Neither have been charged with any offence, but a coronial inquest suggested Mr Laurie was the most likely suspect.

Following the first inquest hearings in 2018, Ms Hodgetts, who claimed to be “riddled with cancer”, left Larrimah to live with Ms Gilbert, 63 to undergo treatment.

But Ms Hodgetts made a miraculous recovery and is now back in Larrimah, where she is enjoying her new-found celebrity status.

“She just loves it up there,” Sue, a mum of eight, said.

“She’s been there 50 years and you know, she put Larrimah on the map, she really did.”

She added: “She was in an op-shop in Katherine recently and people were coming up to her and saying they recognised her and asking for photos with her.

“She’s a star up there now and she’s loving it.”

Larrimah, which then had a population of 11 people, is 500km from Darwin and 1000km from Alice Springs. It had no mobile phone reception until recently.

Ms Gilbert said the family at first feared the documentary could have blamed Moriarty’s death on Ms Hodgetts, who has been the target of malicious allegations, including that she baked him into a pie.

“It (the show) was good because we feared the whole thing was going to be about mum,” Ms Gilbert said.

“But they spoke to most people and the whole town was under suspicion.

“Everyone is pointing the finger at everyone. It’s like that board game Cluedo or an Agatha Christie novel.

“I don’t think anyone is ever really going to know the truth.”

Pie cook Fran Hodgetts has long been a suspect in Moriarty’s disappearance and presumed murder as she had been locked in a dispute with him for several years.

Fran Hodgetts' bakery in Larrimah. Picture By Amos Aikman

Ms Hodgetts, now 80, was one of the main suspects because she had been feuding with Moriarty, who lived directly opposite, for years.

The relationship deteriorated so much, she made nine complaints to police about him, including theft, accusing him of poisoning her plants, cutting electrical wires to her home and even dragging dead kangaroos onto her property.

She was also livid that Moriarty put a sign up outside his property stating the town’s only other business, the famous Pink Panther Hotel, sold the best pies in town, when Fran ran a teahouse predominantly selling homemade pies.

Moriarty also abused and swore at customers to her business and he was served a trespass notice by officers after it was alleged he kept turning her ‘open’ for business sign to ‘closed’ to affect her trade.

Ms Hodgetts has always vehemently denied wrongdoing, and told 2018 coronial hearings she was “f**king riddled with arthritis” and would have been incapable of disposing of Moriarty’s body.

Paddy Moriarty is missing and presumed dead.

Ms Gilbert said the end of the Netflix show mentioned a gardener her mum had hired in August 2017 for protection against Paddy.

In return for looking after her garden, Fran provided Owen Laurie a small bungalow on her property.

Ms Gilbert has revealed new details about her dealings with Mr Laurie.

“I used to go up and help mum run the pie shop,” she said.

“I didn’t like staying there when Owen was there. He scared me. I think he scared mum too, especially towards the end.

“He was tall and stood over you. He shook my son’s hand so hard he thought Owen was going to break it. He was intimidating. He just gave me the shivers.”

“One time, when mum had gone to Katherine to do shopping and I was home alone with him, I happened to move his garden hose.

“He leaned right over me, screaming and shouting in my face, swearing, about never doing that again. I was stunned.”

Gardener Owen Laurie has also been a suspect in Moriarty’s disappearance.

Moriarty lived in a disused service station, called Top of the Town, with his red Kelpie, Kellie.

He worked at the pub, which has a Pink Panther theme to make it stand out to any passing tourists, where he cleaned the toilets, did the laundry, made up rooms and did gardening.

After lunch he sat on a particular chair, sipped beer and welcomed any visitors.

Coroner Greg Cavanagh noted in his findings into Moriarty’s death last year: “Paddy liked order and routines.

“He kept his residence spotless. Everything was in its place.

“He had a routine well known to the residents of Larrimah.

“He walked his dog in the morning down the Rubbish Dump Road and around the circle back to his residence.

“He then rode his quad bike to the Hotel, with his dog on the back.

“He worked until about midday and then sat and had some beers. He would leave the Hotel with his dog in the late afternoon at about 4.30pm or, if there were people to talk to, sometime later.”

Paddy Moriarty lived at the Pink Panther pub (left)

It was the exact same routine on Saturday 16 December 2017.

He told hotel owner Barry Sharpe he would not be at work the next day, but would see him around lunchtime to pick up a lawnmower, before jumping onto his red Honda quad bike at dusk and heading home.

Moriarty was not seen on the Sunday and did not turn up for work on Monday morning.

That’s when Barry became concerned and went to his home. Moriarty wasn’t there, but nor was his dog, and as the unlocked residence was neat and tidy, he assumed he was out walking.

On the Tuesday, Larrimah residents Mark and Karen Rayner, became aware Moriarty was missing and started searching for him.

They discovered the quad bike parked under the carport, his keys on the table, kitchen fan on, his hat at home which he always wore if going out, it looked like a meal was being prepared and his bed had not been slept in.

“It appeared that in the midst of meal preparation something unexpected happened,” the coroner said.

Police were called at 4pm on Tuesday but extensive searching over several days could not locate him or his dog.

The Larrimah residence (left) of Patrick Moriarty, where it appeared he had been preparing a meal before “something unexpected happened”.

Police began to suspect his disappearance was the result of foul play 12 days after his disappearance, prompting widescale searches.

Twelve days after Moriarty was last seen, police began to suspect his disappearance was the result of foul play.

All remaining 10 residents became suspects and the tiny community turned on each other, with every grievance and annoyance aired.

Mr Laurie, who vehemently denies killing Moriarty, did not associate with anyone in Larrimah other than Ms Hodgetts.

He did not go to the pub and most people had not seen him in the four months between when he arrived in town and when Moriarty went missing.

He claimed to police he had heard a lot about Moriarty, but had only spoken to him once.

But Moriarty had told the hotel owner Barry Sharpe there were a series of “ongoing arguments” between the pair. Most were over allegations Moriarty’s dog, Kellie, was straying onto Ms Hodgett’s property.

Mr Laurie, who has admitted to having a quick temper, once said: “If anyone touches my plants it will be the first murder in Larrimah”. He later claimed those comments were a joke.

At the inquest, police recordings from listening devices placed in Ms Hodgett’s home captured the voice of a man singing and rambling.

“F**k’n killer b*****d. You killed f**k’n Paddy up the bum … Donged him on the head … You killed Paddy … Smacked him on the f**ken nostrils with a claw hammer,” a February 2018 recording states.

The police search included the Larrimah Dam. Picture: NT Police

The search was also conducted at the tip.

Another recording, in May 2018, hears a man saying: “I had a fight in the middle of the night … f**king he would have been yee hee to the coppers, no wonder I f**k’n belt him mate … I belt the c**t he would have been yee hee hee to the coppers.”

Owen claimed it was not his voice.

“In my opinion Paddy was killed in the context of and likely due to the ongoing feud he had with his nearest neighbours,” Coroner Greg Cavanagh concluded.

“He had ridden home from the Hotel, put his wallet on the table and his hat in its usual place, put the dog food in the dog’s bowl and got his own meal out of the freezer. He then went outside with his dog.

“There is no evidence as to where he went, however it is likely that the new plants at Fran’s place were of some attraction.”

He added: “I am not permitted to include a finding or comment that a person may be guilty of an offence. However, I will refer this investigation to the Commissioner of Police.”

The investigation into Moriarty’s death remains an open case

Mr Laurie is now living in remote Western Australia and could not be reached for comment.