Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Kylie Stevenson, co-author of Larrimah - a true crime novel about the Paddy Moriarty case - speaks to Katie from outside the second inquest into his apparent death

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Kylie Stevenson, co-author of Larrimah - a true crime novel about the Paddy Moriarty case - speaks to Katie from outside the second inquest into his apparent death · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Now.
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  Speaker 2: As most Territorians will know, Patty Moriarty disappeared without a
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: trace in December twenty seventeen from the tiny town of Larimer.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: His disappearance has sparked so many questions, many wondering how
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: the well known local could just disappear without a trace.
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  Speaker 2: The Northern Territory Coroner is today going to reopen the
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: inquest into his apparent death. Now joining me on the
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  Speaker 2: line is Kylie Stephenson, the co author of Larimer, a
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  Speaker 2: book which investigated the death of the well known local.
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  Speaker 3: Good morning to you, Kylie.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning Katie.
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  Speaker 3: Thanks so much for your time this morning. Kylie.
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  Speaker 2: This is a story which has really gripped the territory
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  Speaker 2: and the nation to some degree, and one which you
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  Speaker 2: and Carolyn will wrote together.
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  Speaker 3: Wrote a whole book about.
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  Speaker 2: There will be some people listening this morning, though, who
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  Speaker 2: really don't know a huge amount about the story walk
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  Speaker 2: us through when Patty went missing.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, so it was, as you said, December twenty seventeen.
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  Speaker 1: He lived in the town of Larama. He'd been there
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  Speaker 1: for a long time, about ten years, and he and
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  Speaker 1: his dog had been at the pub, which they had
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: done every day. The Pink panther in Larama, which probably
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: a lot of people know. He'd been there drinking his
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: usual afternoon sort of routine. About dusk, he left the
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  Speaker 1: pub and jumped on his squad bike with his dog Kelly.
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  Speaker 1: They drove over the road over the other side of
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  Speaker 1: the Stuart Highway to their home and no one ever
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  Speaker 1: saw him again. There was food on the table as
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  Speaker 1: if they were about to have their dinner. The back
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  Speaker 1: door was just closed with a block up against it,
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  Speaker 1: as if they'd gone out for a walk or something.
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  Speaker 1: But a huge police search in the area didn't uncover
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  Speaker 1: any evidence of anything, didn't uncover you know, the dog
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  Speaker 1: or any sign of Paddy. So it's really been a
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  Speaker 1: mystery that sort of gripped a lot of people in
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  Speaker 1: the territory, I think because a lot of us do
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: drive up and down the track and do pass through
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  Speaker 1: Larama and it's a place we all kind of know.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it really has, and it just seems to be
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  Speaker 2: one of those out back mysteries that you know that
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  Speaker 2: it feels like we've never gotten any answers about. I
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  Speaker 2: know that you and the co author of Larimer, Carolyn Graham,
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  Speaker 2: spent quite a bit of time out there interviewing the
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  Speaker 2: locals and getting to know plenty of the characters out
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  Speaker 2: that way.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, So the year before Patty went missing, I'd spent
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  Speaker 1: a bit of time in Larama doing a writer's retreat
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  Speaker 1: through the Anti Writer's Center, and I've gotten to know
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  Speaker 1: some of the locals that, including Patty, who had been
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: at the pub most days. He was there helping out
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  Speaker 1: as well. He used to work there in the mornings,
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  Speaker 1: just sort of you know, raking up the leaves and
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: mowing the lawns and things like that. So I've gotten
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  Speaker 1: to know a few other people then, and when he
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  Speaker 1: went missing me later, I sort of got back in
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  Speaker 1: touch with some of those people, and Carol and I
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  Speaker 1: went down there and spent a few weeks sort of
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: interviewing people and asking them what they know. But what
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  Speaker 1: we kind of discovered was not only you know, was
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  Speaker 1: this incident with Paddy disappearing fascinating, but the whole town
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  Speaker 1: was really fascinating, and all the people who lived there
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  Speaker 1: just had really interesting life stories. And Larimer itself has
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  Speaker 1: this incredible history. It was this hub during the war
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  Speaker 1: where thousands of soldiers were stationed for quite a long
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  Speaker 1: period of time. It was the head of the rail
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  Speaker 1: for a long time, so there was always this kind
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  Speaker 1: of big movement through the town and all these interesting
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  Speaker 1: things happening there. But over the years, as obviously the
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  Speaker 1: war ended and the rail was scrapped, Larimer has just
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  Speaker 1: become this sort of tiny town home to yeah, around
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  Speaker 1: twelve people.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, now I know that your book, Larimer, it does
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  Speaker 2: take readers on that journey of who done it. As
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  Speaker 2: you've said, you've spent quite a bit of time out there.
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  Speaker 2: What did you guys glean while you were out there?
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  Speaker 2: You know when it came to the appearance of Patty.
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  Speaker 1: Well, what we kind of came to was that there
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  Speaker 1: are just so many possibilities of what could have happened
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  Speaker 1: to him that it's really difficult to rule any of
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  Speaker 1: them out. Some are more likely than others. Certainly, police
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  Speaker 1: have pursued this as a murder investigation. They believe someone
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  Speaker 1: has done something to Patty and to his dog, Kelly,
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  Speaker 1: and that's certainly a possibility. But when you look at
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  Speaker 1: that landscape out there, there are other possibilities. People have
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  Speaker 1: told us about sinkholes in the area, there are you
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  Speaker 1: know a lot of sort of snakes and other wildlife
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  Speaker 1: that could potentially harm a person and a dog. You know,
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  Speaker 1: the chances of both a dog and a man disappearing
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  Speaker 1: at the hands of wildlife is probably pretty slim, but
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  Speaker 1: it's still a possibility. So what we kind of found
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  Speaker 1: was that there are just so many possibilities and all
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  Speaker 1: of them sound quite impossible, but something has to be
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  Speaker 1: the truth.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and this is the thing, and that's exactly what
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  Speaker 2: the Norse Territory Coroner, well, they're certainly hoping to finally
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  Speaker 2: uncover what happened when he today reopens that coronial inquest
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  Speaker 2: into the seventy year old suspected death. Kylie, what are
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  Speaker 2: you expecting to hear today in that coronial?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it will be interesting. I attended the
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  Speaker 1: first half of the coronial, which was quite soon after
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  Speaker 1: Patty went missing. It was about six months after. And
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  Speaker 1: the reason for that, which is it's quite unusual. The
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  Speaker 1: reason given was that a lot of the residents from
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  Speaker 1: Larama were aging and they wanted to get that evidence
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  Speaker 1: while they could. So there's been a few years intervening
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  Speaker 1: since it's to today where it's being reopened, and I
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  Speaker 1: think what we're probably going to hear today is from
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  Speaker 1: the police to hear an update of what has been
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  Speaker 1: going on with their investigation in the last few years.
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  Speaker 1: They did only last year offer a reward for any
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  Speaker 1: information that might lead to what has happened to Patty,
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  Speaker 1: and I think a couple of key residents will also
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  Speaker 1: be recalled to the case to give evidence today, So
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  Speaker 1: it's running over two days. We've got today and tomorrow,
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  Speaker 1: possibly Friday, I'm not really sure yet, but we'll find
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  Speaker 1: out more when we get there this morning.
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  Speaker 3: Well, Kylie, let's hope that there are some answers.
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  Speaker 2: We really appreciate your time this morning, and of course
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  Speaker 2: people are able to get out there and purchase that
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  Speaker 2: book that yourself and Carol and Graham Roche Larimer, we
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  Speaker 2: really appreciate you speaking to us this morning, and it
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  Speaker 2: would be good let us know how things go in
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: that inquest, but we'll be keeping close on it as well.
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Katie.
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: Thank you