A seemingly ordinary country pub conceals a chilling mystery. Now offered for purchase, this establishment harbors a sinister past.
Down Under's Mysterious Pub Years After Paddy Moriarty's Disappearance
The Pink Panther Hotel, more famously known as the Larrimah Hotel, located in theAustralian outback, is up for grabs. Sitting roughly 500km south of Darwin in the Northern Territory, this pub has been a centerpiece of an eight-year-old cold case surrounding the vanishing of despised local, Paddy Moriarty.
This very pub made headlines following the release of a Netflix series, 'Last Stop Larrimah' and the award-winning podcast, 'Lost in Larrimah,' which scrutinized the curious circumstances surrounding Moriarty's disappearance. A regular patron when he went missing, Moriarty, an Irish-born bloke, was last spotted departing from the hotel along with his red kelpie-mix, Kellie, en route to his home a mere 280m away.
Publican Steve Baldwin took over the town's tavern from Barry Sharpe in 2018, shortly after Moriarty's mysterious vanishing act. The establishment is now listed at a cool $795,000 and comes furnished with two emus and two crocodiles, cheekily named Sneaky Sam and Agro, who live out back.
According to Baldwin, the pub provides a glorious business venture, constantly swarmed by curious travelers eager to delve into the town's enigmatic saga.
"You don't often find a century-old building in the tropics, nor does the Territory boast one highlighted in a Netflix series, and he still hasn't been found," said Baldwin.
In 2017, Paddy Moriarty was last seen leaving Larrimah Hotel, a minuscule outback settlement in the Northern Territory, accompanied by his trusty dog Kellie.
The infamous Pink Panther HotelThat's $795,000 for two emus, two crocodiles, and a pub at the epicenter of a disappearance
Gossips surrounding Moriarty's unexplained demise suggest it could be linked to a grueling feud among his neighbors, who populated the town of just 12 when the event took place. With the population now dwindling to a mere eight, the ghost of Moriarty continues to cast a long shadow over the community.
In the early weeks following the disappearance, police fitted recording devices to local man Owen Laurie's residence, suspecting involvement in Moriarty's fate. An inquest in 2022 exposed allegedly compromising recordings, claiming to feature a voice saying, "I killed Paddy, hit him on the head... I slaughtered the bastard...". Disputing these audiotapes, Laurie firmly asserted that the voice was not his.
The inquest also delved into frictions between Moriarty and Frances Hodgetts, his former employer who oversaw Fran's Teahouse. Suspicious that Moriarty was repeatedly poisoning her prized plants, Hodgetts had no qualms telling him, "If anyone touches my garden, it will be the first murder in Larrimah."
Falling short of concrete evidence, NT Coroner Greg Cavanagh insinuated foul play in his findings, stating, "Paddy was killed in the context of and likely due to the ongoing feud he had with his nearest neighbors."
Although the Northern Territory Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) expressed their commitment to the case by announcing that it would not be laying any charges, their investigation continues to halt without substantial proof.
"The DPP has determined that there is insufficient evidence to make out a charge against any person in relation to the disappearance of Paddy Moriarty," reported the DPP.
The Larrimah Hotel is currently managed by real estate agent Warren Andrews, who describes the listing as "the perfect Aussie bush pub." Baldwin proposes the pub could prove to be a lucrative investment opportunity due to the forthcoming Beetaloo gas project, which plans to create a major gas field in northern Australia.
- The Larrimah Hotel, currently listed for $795,000, could be a lucrative investment in real estate due to the upcoming Beetaloo gas project.
- The unsolved disappearance of Paddy Moriarty, a regular patron of the Larrimah Hotel, has caught the attention of both local and international news outlets, with documentaries like 'Last Stop Larrimah' and 'Lost in Larrimah' highlighting the strange circumstances surrounding his vanishing.
- The ongoing mystery of Paddy Moriarty's fate and the associated financial potential from the Beetaloo gas project have made the Larrimah Hotel an attractive destination for investors interested in both business and travel.
