Moriarty inquest told police secretly recorded Owen Laurie saying he ‘killerated old Paddy’
Police secretly recorded a suspect in the disappearance of Patrick Moriarty saying he ‘killerated old Paddy … smacked him on the nostrils with a claw hammer’.
Police secretly recorded a suspect in the disappearance of Larrimah man Patrick Moriarty telling himself while strumming a guitar and muttering to his dog that “I killerated old Paddy … smacked him … with a claw hammer”, a court has heard.
The shocking recordings allegedly of “hot-tempered” retired gardener and ex-tent boxer Owen Laurie were played at a coronial inquest into Mr Moriarty’s presumed death.
The eight tapes, from a listening device planted in Mr Laurie’s home after Mr Moriarty was last seen on December 16, 2017, provide some of the first clues about what happened to the twinkle-eyed larrikin when he walked out of the Pink Panther pub on a wobbly boot, promising to return the next day to collect a lawnmower.
Mr Laurie, who lived with “pie lady” Fran Hodgetts across the road from Mr Moriarty, has previously admitted to having an altercation with Mr Moriarty days before his disappearance and to warning that “if anyone touches my plants, it’ll be the first murder in Larrimah”.
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Mr Laurie characterised the remark as a joke.
“I killerated old Paddy … I struck him on the f---ing head and killerated him … struck him on the head and killerated him, basherated him. Doof,” he allegedly told himself on one of the secretly recorded tapes.
“You killed f..king Paddy up the bum … doomed him on the head, donged him on the head … smacked him on the f..king nostrils with me claw hammer.”
The recordings are interspersed with the sounds of Mr Laurie allegedly playing his guitar, humming and singing, making odd vocal noises and reprimanding his dog, Ruby.
“Smacked him on the nostrils, buk, buk, buk. Ruby, Ruby, snickly, sniffy, snoo,” he can be heard saying in one.
“Ruby, what did you do with my book? I kill, I kill you myself, I kill, I kill pup dog. I kill pup dogs (laughter). Bye, see you, goodbye. Hoo-roo, bye, see you, bye, goodbye, see ya, hoo-roo, bye.”
Mr Laurie initially denied the tapes were of him but then declined to comment further, citing his right to avoid self-incrimination.
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The precise wording of the alleged remarks was provided by detectives and read to the court.
“I didn’t say that. I remain silent. I didn’t say that,” he said.
Counsel assisting Kelvin Currie told the court the most recent recording was made just days before Mr Laurie was first called to give evidence at the inquest in June 2018.
The inquest heard Ms Hodgetts, who hired Mr Laurie as a gardener, had a long-running dispute with Mr Moriarty and blamed him and her ex-husband for poisoning her plants.
Earlier on Wednesday, another witness at Katherine Local Court told the inquest he believed Mr Moriarty might have been murdered in a contract killing ordered by Ms Hodgetts and organised by a now-deceased man called Brian Roberts.
Ms Hodgetts said the “honest truth” was she did not know Mr Roberts or what had happened to Mr Moriarty.
That witness, Wayne Ledwidge, claimed Mr Roberts had links to another famous murder, that of Peter Falconio.
Ms Hodgetts and Mr Laurie denied knowing Mr Roberts.
Irish-born Mr Moriarty left the Pink Panther in Larrimah in 2017, having sunk his usual 8-10 beers.
Police believe he rode home on a quad bike. Investigators found his hat and personal items, including food ready to be eaten, at his home nearby.
Listeners to The Australia’s Lost in Larrimah podcast about Mr Moriarty’s disappearance were captivated by tales of the charismatic barfly, the town of about 11 people five hours south of Darwin and their internecine feuds.
The Pink Panther became renowned for its pet crocodile, which occasionally dined on hawks shot by the barman.
Almost every Larrimah resident was called to give evidence before Coroner Greg Cavanagh in 2018, but the inquest was adjourned.
Exhaustive police searches in the dense scrubland around Larrimah found no trace of Mr Moriarty or his dog Kellie. A $250,000 reward offered by police for information about his disappearance did not result in any arrests.
Mr Ledwidge, who came forward after police appealed for information, testified on Wednesday that he and wheelchair-bound Mr Roberts were neighbours in Katherine.
One day, when the pair were at the Katherine Motor Vehicle Registry, Mr Ledwidge claimed Mr Roberts bumped into Ms Hodgetts, who told him she needed to get rid of someone and offered to pay $10,000.
“This lady approached Brian Roberts in front of the Motor Vehicle Registry. She was very loud, abrupt, and said to Brian, ‘That bastard is still giving me a hard time – I need to get rid of him’,” he said.
“(She) said she needed to get rid of him and she would pay $10,000.”
He did not initially finger Mr Roberts as a “Mister Fixit in the dark arts” but became more concerned after making a connection between Mr Moriarty and Ms Hodgetts and realising Mr Roberts’ stepson was briefly a suspect in the Falconio case.
Ms Hodgetts struggled to explain what had happened to most of the $27,000 kept in her freezer but repeatedly told the court the “honest truth” was she did not know Mr Roberts or what had happened to Mr Moriarty.
Earlier in the day, the inquest heard from Michael Pangquee, a long-distance truck driver who said he believed he was psychic but had not used any of his powers in coming up with his evidence.
Mr Pangquee recounted claims two men identified only as Richard and Paul had conspired to kill Mr Moriarty and bury him with his dog on top of him.
Mr Pangquee also answered a public appeal. Detectives were unable to corroborate his statements.
Mr Cavanagh, who retires next week, is expected to deliver his findings on Thursday.
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