Northern Territory coroner Greg Cavanagh believes Paddy Moriarty and his dog were killed "likely due to the ongoing feud with his nearest neighbours" and has referred his findings to the Commissioner of Police, an inquest has heard.
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Mr Cavanagh spoke briefly in the Katherine Local Court as he handed down around 30 pages of findings on Thursday morning, from a coronial inquest into the disappearance and suspected death of Mr Moriarty on December 16, 2017.
He believed Mr Moriarty was dead, and that he and his dog Kellie were killed on the night he went missing after leaving the local pub on his quad bike around 6pm.
"He had ridden home from the hotel, put the mostly eaten chicken in the microwave, put his wallet on the table, put his hat in its usual place, put the dog food in the dog's bowl and got his own meal out of the freezer," Mr Cavanagh said.
"He then went outside with the dog."
The inquest heard on Wednesday that there had been ongoing tension between Mr Moriarty and his neighbour and Larrimah Teahouse owner Fran Hodgetts, including allegations from Ms Hodgetts that Mr Moriarty had been involved in poisoning her plants on numerous occasions.
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However, in her evidence on Tuesday, Ms Hodgetts denied claims that she had offered $10,000 for someone to "get rid of" an unnamed person who was "giving her a hard time."
Mr Cavanagh said there was no evidence of where Mr Moriarty went after arriving home from the pub that night but said "it is my view that the new plants at Fran's place were of some attraction to him."
"In my opinion, Paddy and his dog were killed in the context and likely due to the ongoing feud he had with his nearest neighbours."
The inquest also heard that Ms Hodgett's new live-in gardener, Owen Laurie, had been allegedly recorded on police-planted listening devices raving and singing to himself about murdering Mr Moriarty with a claw hammer.
"I killerated old Paddy ... I struck him on the f---ing head and killerated him ... basherated him," he is allegedly heard to sing while strumming a guitar in early 2018.
Mr Laurie, who gave evidence on Wednesday, initially denied the recordings were of him before declining to answer any further questions on the grounds that the answers will or may tend to criminate him.
Mr Cavanagh said in his findings, "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 and the [Department of Public Prosecutions]".
In a statement issued after the findings were handed down, Officer in Charge of the investigation, Detective Sergeant Matthew Allen, said: "Cases of this nature are never closed until they are solved."
"Murder investigations are challenging, particularly when there is no body. We need to find Paddy," he said.
A $250,000 reward for information that solves the case remains in place.
Larrimah residents and close friends of Mr Moriarty's, Karen and Mark Rayner, attended the inquest and briefly spoke to reporters afterwards.
Ms Rayner said the recordings had been "upsetting" to hear but it was "good to know police have done that much behind the scenes".
She said she hoped these findings would help the town find closure after Mr Moriarty's disappearance.
This inquest also closed a chapter for Mr Cavanagh, who has been on the bench since 1996 and will retire next week.
