News Wife Still Missing One Year Later

"I don't know why they stayed together this long. I guess my daughter just tried to hang in there because of the kids," said Stellatos.

Murphy is looking after their children full time and according to Rem, is finding everything very difficult.

Rem told reporters last week that Murphy was still too emotionally devastated by the loss of his wife."I spoke with him a week ago, and he sobbed hysterically for 20 minutes," Rem said."He has his children with him, and he's had to play both father and mother."

Liza's case had been featured on "America's Most Wanted" and the "Nancy Grace" show on CNN.

According to police, Murphy confronted his wife with evidence that she was cheating on him prior to his disappearance.

Apparently they argued for about 15 minutes and then Liza left the house, leaving behind her cell phone, cigarettes and daily medications. Liza suffered from a chronic syndrome called Fibromyalgia.

It was Liza's friend who reported her missing after they discovered she had not come home the night before. Murphy later told police that his wife had a habit of not coming home so he didn't suspect she was missing.

Police organized a ground and air search for the missing mother. They used cadaver dogs and helicopters with heat-detecting cameras in their search of more than 275 acres of land and reservoir near the home of the Murphys.

After a week the search was called off.

Murphy, according to court documents, entered the U.S. from Ireland in 1983 as a legal resident.

Murphy, however, was not always known as Joseph Murphy. His birth name is Delahunty but he took on the name Murphy after arriving in the U.S.

In 2005 he filed for an official name-change from Delahunty to Murphy.

According to his petition, Murphy wasn't attempting to escape creditors or criminal prosecution by changing his name. He had no pending lawsuits, bankruptcy proceedings or criminal charges, as well as no record of conviction.

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Nster.com