By CAROLINE GRAHAM AND KYLIE STEVENSON

Two new witnesses have given evidence this morning at the resumed inquest into the disappearance of Paddy Moriarty, with one man connecting the case to the 2001 murder of Peter Falconio.

Mr Moriarty and his dog Kellie went missing from the tiny town of Larrimah, 500km south of Darwin, on December 16, 2017.

Northern Territory Police suspect foul play and last year offered a $250,000 reward for any information that could help solve the case.

The inquest first opened in 2018, just six months after the disappearance, and was held early due to the age and health of many Larrimah residents giving evidence.

The hearing continued at Katherine Courthouse today after more than three years break, with Coroner Greg Cavanagh expected to hand down his findings tomorrow, in what will be his last case before retirement.

Wayne Ian Ledwidge, of Pine Creek, gave evidence that in late 2017 he had driven his friend Brian Roberts to Katherine, where the pair ran into Fran Hodgetts outside the Motor Vehicle Registry.

Ms Hodgetts lived opposite Mr Moriarty in Larrimah and the pair had been in a long-standing feud, in part because Mr Moriarty’s behaviour drove customers away from her teahouse.

Although he had not met Ms Hodgetts before, Mr Ledwidge claimed that when his friend ran into her at Katherine, they had a conversation in which Ms Hodgetts offered Mr Roberts money.

“She said to Brian, ‘that bastard is still giving me a hard time, I need to get rid of him’,” Mr Ledwidge told the court.

“She mentioned that she had $9000 at home and that she could get more.”

Later, when the pair were returning to Pine Creek, Mr Roberts told Mr Ledwidge that he had a mate who would “do the job for $10,000”.

A few weeks later, a news report came on the television about Mr Moriaty’s disappearance, and Mr Roberts, who has since died of natural causes, allegedly blurted out to Mr Ledwidge, “shit, he didn’t have to do the dog.”

Mr Ledwidge said that after Mr Roberts’ death he started looking into his friend’s background, recalling a time he had commented on the murder of Peter Falconio, saying Bradley John Murdoch hadn’t been responsible, and that Mr Falconio was buried under “a large tree”.

Officer in Charge of the case Detective Sergeant Matt Allen said it was possible the pair had met with Ms Hodgetts in Katherine, probably in late August 2017, however there was no evidence to connect Mr Roberts to Mr Moriarty’s disappearance, nor the Falconio case.

Detective Sergeant Allen said the police investigation had also failed to confirm the allegations made by first witness Michael Pangquee, a truck driver from Darwin, who claimed to have had several conversations with a man named “Richard” about Mr Moriarty.

Mr Pangquee told the court he met Richard through work in 2018 and over the course of a number of evenings drinking, Richard told him he was with another man when Mr Moriarty and his dog were shot and killed, then the pair had a drink over the bodies and buried them.

Mr Pangquee claimed Richard said: “The dog is on top of Paddy. You’ll find the dog first.”

Detective Sergeant Allen said significant police resources had been devoted to investigating Mr Pangquee’s allegations, but it appeared that Richard and Mr Pangquee did not know each other well.

Police found evidence that Mr Pangquee and Richard had not been in the same place at the time he claimed the conversation took place.

The inquest continues this afternoon, with Ms Hodgetts and Owen Laurie, her caretaker/gardener at the time of the disappearance, scheduled to give evidence.

MORE TO COME.