Liza Murphy 42, missing 8/19/07 Emerson, NJ

[2NJSons_Mom]

Search for Emerson mom expands

Saturday, August 25, 2007

By JOSEPH AX
STAFF WRITER

 
 

TARIQ ZEHAWI / THE RECORD
Emerson Police Chief Michael Saudino, right, discussing Liza Murphy.
 
Authorities grew increasingly pessimistic Friday as they stepped up their search for a missing Emerson mother.

"To be honest, it doesn't look good at this point," Emerson Police Chief Michael Saudino said Friday afternoon. "I find it strange that she hasn't tried to contact her children, let them know that Mom is OK."

Joseph Murphy told police his wife, Liza, left their home on Sunday following an argument. On Thursday, they said, he stepped into the path of a Westwood fire vehicle in what's being characterized as a suicide attempt. He remained hospitalized Friday with several broken bones and internal injuries.

Meanwhile, the couple's three children were staying with Joseph Murphy's sister.

Investigators have no evidence the 42-year-old mother met with foul play.

"We have no suspects at this time," Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said. "This is still a missing persons case."

Yet both the prosecutor and the police chief said they believe Liza Murphy would have somehow reached out to her children at some point in the past several days if she were OK.

 
Authorities early Friday expanded their search of a wooded area surrounding the Oradell Reservoir southeast of the Murphys' Broad Street home, using K-9 units and all-terrain vehicles. The Emerson Fire Department launched its boat onto the reservoir to examine the shoreline.

Local police also took to the air in a Port Authority Police Department helicopter equipped with a heat-detecting camera, sweeping over the woods and along the cliffs of the Palisades.

Saudino acknowledged the hundreds of acres and the massive reservoir made a complete search of the entire area virtually impossible. However, he said, police will continue to look for at least several more days.

The chief said he had considered asking volunteer firefighters, ambulance corps workers and police reserves to join in a more extensive search today but decided against it due to extreme heat predicted for the area. The larger search may take place another day, he said.

Two witnesses – a worker at a local bagel store and a neighbor – told detectives they may have seen Liza Murphy on Monday, but Saudino said a follow-up indicated they are likely mistaken.

Joseph Murphy, 39, meanwhile, has spoken more than once with investigators but remains relatively "uncooperative," Saudino said. He remained in surgical intensive care Friday at Hackensack University Medical Center.

A neighbor who visited him there Friday at the request of his sister said Murphy was having trouble breathing due to broken ribs. The self-employed painter faces months of rehabilitation and possible surgery, said the neighbor, who asked not to identified.

"His concern is for his kids," the neighbor said.

He acknowledged that the Murphys had arguments but said these were typical.

"They had some problems, like any family does," he said.

The Murphys' home remained cordoned off Friday as TV crews descended upon the quiet street.

Crime scene investigators from the Bergen County Sheriff's Office, who searched the home Thursday, were examining Liza Murphy's Jeep and Joseph Murphy's van on Friday, said Ben Feldman, a spokesman for Sheriff Leo McGuire.

Other neighbors said the Murphys were friendly but not particularly social. The family has lived in Emerson about seven years, they said, and the children are enrolled in the local public school system.

Before she moved to Emerson, Liza Murphy lived in Hillsdale. She kept to herself but was "always very friendly," said neighbor Maurice Bakhash. He said she told him she was moving because Emerson was a better fit for her.

"She came across as very normal," Bakhash said. "I never heard of any dispute."

E-mail: ax@northjersey.com. Staff writers Maya Kremen, Kibret Markos and Jason Tsai contributed to this report.
 

7185946
http://tinyurl.com/2l6z6y

************

My initial gut feeling when reading about the husband's attempted suicide, yesterday was that he did it.   Still have that same feeling reading this today.  Will have to see how this turns out. 

[2NJSons_Mom]

Heat, humidity halt search for missing mom

Sunday, August 26, 2007

By MERRY FIRSCHEIN
STAFF WRITER

 

EMERSON -- Saturday's extreme heat and humidity brought a temporary halt to a search for a missing borough mother.

Liza Murphy, 42, has been missing since at least last Sunday, according to her husband, Joseph, who stepped in front of a Westwood fire vehicle Thursday in what is being characterized as a suicide attempt.

 
Police said Friday that Joseph Murphy, 39, was not cooperating with them, but investigators have said they have no evidence of foul play.

"It is too hot and humid" for searchers to be working outdoors, borough Police Chief Michael Saudino said Saturday.

There will be no search today either, though temperatures will be slightly cooler, he said.

Police will meet Monday "and discuss our options at that point," Saudino said. "We are trying to get further maps of that area."

He said the delay was no cause for alarm.

Joseph Murphy told police his wife left their home after an argument.

Officers have been searching for her in a wooded area surrounding the Oradell Reservoir southeast of the Murphys' Broad Street home.

"These searches are just to do things to cover all the bases," Saudino said. "There is nothing to indicate she is in these woods."

The chief said the reservoir area is just the first in a list of places that police will investigate.

"It seemed like a logical thing at least to eliminate that area," Saudino said. "There are other wooded areas that we want to conduct a search on."

Saturday had high temperatures in the mid-90s, but the afternoon air felt as though it was 100 degrees.

The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the entire afternoon.

Investigators have no evidence that Liza Murphy has met with foul play, the chief said.

"We are hoping that there is a chance that she is alive, that she would see the media blitz and see that it is time to get home," Saudino said.

Joseph Murphy remained in surgical intensive care Saturday at Hackensack University Medical Center.

The couple's three children are staying with Joseph Murphy's sister.

E-mail: firschein@northjersey.com
 

7186770

http://tinyurl.com/38pfdm

[bleachedblack]

I have to agree 2NJ if the husband is going to step in-front of a fire engine in a suicide attempt and lands in intensive care........he did it IMO. Lucky thing is he has survived. Hopefully LE will be able to get the info out of him when he recovers. Oh yea,
New Jersey has the death penalty , so maybe he'll get his wish after all.

[2NJSons_Mom]

I have to agree 2NJ if the husband is going to step in-front of a fire engine in a suicide attempt and lands in intensive care........he did it IMO. Lucky thing is he has survived. Hopefully LE will be able to get the info out of him when he recovers. Oh yea,
New Jersey has the death penalty , so maybe he'll get his wish after all.

Not cooperating, walks into traffic....she left with no ID, phone, etc.  Three poor children involved....another frightful story, it seems..  You are right.  Hope it's solved soon.

[Sleeks]

I have to agree 2NJ if the husband is going to step in-front of a fire engine in a suicide attempt and lands in intensive care........he did it IMO. Lucky thing is he has survived. Hopefully LE will be able to get the info out of him when he recovers. Oh yea,
New Jersey has the death penalty , so maybe he'll get his wish after all.

    Love that part about NJ having the Death Penalty, so maybe he'll get his wish after all.   

Another thing that truly bothers me about this one is "it is too hot & humid to do a search."  Are they kidding.  Sorry but Texas, Aruba, Southern Cal., Fla., are all pretty darn hot & humid - I don't see them calling off searches.   

[MsVada]

Well, lets hope he spills what he did, before he walks into the path of another oncoming vehicle. 

[Red]

Becuase we all just walk out in front of traffic for no reason. Especially in Jersey. Usually one gets out in the middle of Jersey roads and they are a gonner.

[Red]

42 Year Old Liza Murphy Missing Since August 19, 2007 in Bergen County, NJ

http://missingexploited.com/2007/08/28/42-year-old-liza-murphy-missing-since-august-19-2007-in-bergen-county-nj/

The case of missing Liza Murphy has become more suspect as Liza’s husband, Joseph Murphy, apparently tried to kill himself by stepping into traffic. Now don’t we all wonder what would cause Mr. Murphy to try an kill himself and then clam up after the failed suicide attempt?

[FoolsGold]

In a very technical sense, this is still a 'missing persons case' without indication of violence. However, any evaluation of it leads to some real concern: women do not walk out of their homes for a few days and not take handbag, cell phone and a few extra outfits to wear. If alive, she would undoubtedly be contacting someone.

Sure, the husband might be distraught for other reasons but his repeated attempts to throw himself infront of a vehicle bespeaks intense emotion relating to homicide rather than merely some minor medical problems or the police/public reaction to his situation.

Infrared search would indicate freshly turned earth but burial by freshly turned earth is unlikely in this case. Heat stroke amongst searchers is undesired and holding off on the search is good in this particular case. I would say this search is being well-conducted.

Did tempers suddenly flare with regrettable results? Probably. Were the problems the usual strife that couples have from time to time? Perhaps. That doesn't mean a reaction has to be within the usual parameters. Heat of the moment does play a role.

[Sleeks]

Becuase we all just walk out in front of traffic for no reason. Especially in Jersey. Usually one gets out in the middle of Jersey roads and they are a gonner.

  Oh you got that right Red.  I am unable to cross the main road in town, unless of course, I was suicidal!!! 

[klaasend]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294890,00.html

N.J. Police Search Reservoir for Missing Mother Liza Murphy




Tuesday , August 28, 2007

 EMERSON, N.J —

Authorities in Bergen County, N.J., began an extensive search Tuesday for missing mom Liza Murphy, whose husband apparently tried to commit suicide shortly after she disappeared, police said.

Emerson police and other searchers were doing a sweep of the Oradell Reservoir for the 42-year-old mother of three.

There was no news Tuesday morning on whether any evidence had been found, Emerson police told FOXNews.com.

The Murphy case took an unusual turn Thursday after police say Murphy's husband, Joseph, stepped into traffic in a bid to take his own life.

Joseph Murphy is not cooperating while he recovers, according to authorities. He told officers his wife left their home after an argument they had last Sunday.

On Monday, Sgt. George Buono told The Record of Bergen County that Tuesday's search would involve "visually covering every inch" of the woods surrounding the reservoir.

Police and emergency personnel from other towns were called upon to comb the terrain on foot. Dogs and a helicopter with a heat-detecting camera were used to canvas the area on Friday. Officers in a boat examined the reservoir's shore.

[2NJSons_Mom]

Wide search planned for missing mom     

Monday, August 27, 2007

By BARBARA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
 

Authorities are planning an extensive search of a wooded area that fringes the Oradell Reservoir to search for a missing Emerson mother, police said.

Liza Murphy, 42, hasn't been seen since she left her home Aug. 19, her husband, Joseph, told police. He is in intensive care at Hackensack Univer- sity Medical Center after stepping in front of a Westwood fire vehicle Thursday in what is being characterized as a suicide attempt.

 
The search, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, will include "visually covering every inch" of a wooded area surrounding the Oradell Reservoir southeast of the Murphy's Broad Street home, said Emerson police Sgt. George Buono. Police officers from other towns and emergency personnel will be joining local authorities on foot.

On Sunday afternoon, Buono said the search wasn't happening Monday because authorities needed some time to organize it.

"It takes a lot of coordinating to put together a search this large," Buono said. "The investigation is continuing -- I'm interviewing someone right now, but there aren't any new developments."

On Friday, the same area was covered by officers using police dogs and all-terrain vehicles. A police helicopter using a heat-detecting camera scanned the woods and the cliffs of the Palisades, and a boat surveyed the reservoir's shoreline.

"When you do that type of search, the dogs are trained to look for a scent," Buono said. "With this search, we will cover every inch of the area."

The hot and humid weather on Saturday stalled all search activities -- the heat index put the temperature above 100 degrees in many areas. Police Chief Michael Saudino said investigators have found nothing to indicate Murphy has met with foul play or that she is in the woods.

Police said Joseph Murphy reported that his wife left their house after an argument last Sunday, but he wasn't cooperating with authorities. The couple's three children are staying with Joseph Murphy's sister.

E-mail: williamsb@northjersey.com
 

7186970
http://tinyurl.com/2xxu95

**********

www.northjersey.com = The Bergen Record mentioned in the foxnews article posted by Klaasend. 

[2NJSons_Mom]

More than 200 search for missing Emerson woman       

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

By JOSEPH AX
STAFF WRITER

 
 

JIM ANNESS / THE RECORD
Members of the Bergen County Rapid Deployment Force searched the woods and outlying areas at Pascack Brook Park for Emerson resident Liza Murphy, who has been missing since last week.
 
More than 200 searchers continue to scour the Emerson woods, hoping to find some trace of Liza Murphy.

They had covered about 50 percent of the area as of 1:30 Tuesday afternoon, said Police Sgt. George Buono.

Police officers from dozens of departments and civilian volunteers gathered at 8 a.m. at Emerson High School to form search teams. Police hope to cover virtually every inch of an approximately 100-acre swath of land southeast of the home Joseph and Liza Murphy shared with their three children, near the Oradell Reservoir.

Search-and-rescue workers are carrying electronic markers in case anything suspicious is found; the markers can be tracked using a GPS device later, if necessary.

Emerson Police Chief Michael Saudino has acknowledged that police have no evidence that Liza Murphy might be in the area but said it was a logical place to canvass, given its relative isolation and proximity to their home.

On Aug. 20, an anonymous caller informed police that Murphy, 42, was missing. They interviewed her husband, who told them she'd left the house after an argument a day earlier.

On Thursday, Joseph Murphy stepped into the path of a Westwood fire official's car in what police said was a suicide attempt. He remains hospitalized with severe injuries. Despite earlier reports that he'd been uncooperative, detectives said Murphy has answered all of their questions.

 
The intensive search represents the best hope for investigators, who have reported no leads so far. If nothing turns up, they said, they will continue to interview friends and family members.

Search teams this morning also headed to Pascack Brook County Park, where members of the Rapid Deployment Force, made of officers from around the county, pushed their way through chest-high brush and thick brambles.

Police sent cadaver dogs ahead of the teams to sweep the area. Meanwhile, news helicopters hovered overhead.

“Hopefully, at the end of the day, we’ll have a good result,” Buono told the searchers this morning.
 

7187578

http://tinyurl.com/2zrcjx

[FoolsGold]

>On Aug. 20, an anonymous caller informed police that Murphy, 42, was missing.
How did anyone know so soon?
Lover? And hence the desire for anonymity?
Was this rage inducing motivation?
If so, the husband surely did not plan this and disposal would have been in an impromptu manner and likely not performed well.

[bleachedblack]

>On Aug. 20, an anonymous caller informed police that Murphy, 42, was missing.
How did anyone know so soon?
Lover? And hence the desire for anonymity?
Was this rage inducing motivation?
If so, the husband surely did not plan this and disposal would have been in an impromptu manner and likely not performed well.

Lover is a stretch here.... The husband tried to kill himself because his wife was having an affair?.....but she had already likely been killed by the lover?  who decided to tip off the cops that she was missing but didn't give a location where to find the body?. 

IMO there is no better reason for someone to make such a call than knowledge of an impending suicide attempt. In this case that attempt failed. The husband will talk before long. The call, and the walk in front of a firetruck IMO speak loudly to the fact that whatever happened this guy can't live with-it. JMO

[2NJSons_Mom]

Missing woman's husband says he is innocent     

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

By JOSEPH AX
STAFF WRITER

 

The lawyer representing a hospitalized Emerson man declared his client's innocence Tuesday in the disappearance of his wife, while more than 200 police officers and volunteers conducted a fruitless search of thick woods near their home.

 
Liza Murphy left the house Aug. 19 after her husband, Joseph, accused her of having an affair and demanded a divorce, attorney Joseph Rem said.

"He told her he wanted her to leave the house by the end of the week," Rem said.

Five days later, Joseph Murphy stepped into the path of a fire official's car in Westwood in what police -- and Rem -- characterized as a suicide attempt.

Details emerged Tuesday about previous suicide attempts or threats by both Murphys, as well as the troubles that strained their marriage.

Liza Murphy, 42, faced two pending disorderly person complaints filed by her estranged brother, who lives across the street, and from a neighbor who often feuded with her, authorities said.

MULTIMEDIA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
JIM ANNESS / THE RECORD
 Photo gallery: Search for missing Emerson mom
(please enable pop-ups)
 
Officers were called to the neighborhood half a dozen times in recent years on charges that had gone "back and forth," said Emerson police Sgt. George Buono.

He also confirmed allegations by Rem and others that Liza Murphy had abused prescription drugs.

"It's certainly one aspect of the case that we've looked into. It's not the overriding thing," said Buono, who is heading the investigation into her disappearance. "It doesn't make me believe that she ran off any more or less than if she didn't have a drug problem."

Murphy had spent more than a year and a half undergoing substance abuse counseling and individual therapy, according to a court document filed Monday by the state Division of Youth and Family Services seeking custody of the couple's three children.

But a woman who says she has been best friends with Liza Murphy for 27 years dismissed the idea that she had addiction problems.

"She wasn't a drunk or anything or a drug addict, not at all," said Donna Woods, a Dumont resident. "They said, 'We want you to go,' and she complied."

Woods confirmed her friend had a relationship with another man but insisted "it wasn't sexual."

"It was just like friends, and maybe a little more than that. But there was no sex," she said.

"She was a good mom," said Woods, who has posted fliers in stores in the hopes of finding Murphy. "She is a great friend. She liked rock-and-roll music. I have such a hole in my heart. I feel like I lost a little sister."

On Aug. 20, an anonymous caller informed police that Liza Murphy was missing. They interviewed her husband, who told them she'd left the house after an argument a day earlier.

Joseph Murphy remained at Hackensack University Medical Center with severe injuries Tuesday. The couple's three children were staying with his sister.

Although police haven't identified him as a suspect, Rem said Murphy hired him because he felt he was being treated as one.

Buono said detectives interviewed Joseph Murphy several times. Despite earlier reports that he'd been uncooperative, Murphy has answered all of their questions, and his answers have remained consistent, the sergeant said.

Rem said his client is a recovering alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in 11 years. Murphy has been treated for depression, he said, and 17 years ago attempted suicide when the couple separated.

"The pressure of her being missing and him being a suspect in a murder that never occurred drove him to despondency," Rem said.

He said Murphy wrote three suicide notes -- one to his sister, one to his children, and one to his wife "because he believed, and still believes, that she was alive."

As the lawyer spoke, police officers from dozens of departments and numerous civilian volunteers continued a daylong search that turned up no clues.

In the absence of genuine leads, authorities said, it was their best option.

Divided into 20 teams, the searchers covered about 375 acres, including Emerson Woods, the United Water property near the Oradell Reservoir, Westwood Cemetery, Pascack Brook Park and the reservoir's shoreline, said police Capt. David Hayes.

With search-and-rescue volunteers guiding them, the teams pushed their way through chest-high brush and tangled brambles. They used electronic markers to denote anything suspicious, so that a GPS device could be used to locate the items later.

By 6:45 p.m., Mat Buonomo, a carpenter and bodyguard from Emerson, was going out on his fourth search of the area.

"My wife, Charlene, is an EMT," Buonomo said. "We'd hope people would be out looking if it were someone close to us.

"Being a bodyguard, I've done other searches before, but never for a missing person. Every little thing that's around -- everything you're walking around or over -- has you asking, 'Is this or could this be evidence of where she is?' "

Court papers filed by DYFS in Hackensack show that caseworkers were called to the Murphy home several times beginning in 2002, based on anonymous referrals and reports from Emerson police. The claims were never substantiated, the documents say.

In 2005, however, a New Jersey hospital worker told DYFS that Liza Murphy had called a suicide hot line, saying she wanted to kill herself, according to the papers, filed in family court. Murphy was involuntarily committed to a hospital and agreed to undergo therapy and substance abuse treatment as part of a "case plan" developed by the agency, the filing says.

As recently as May of this year, it says, Liza Murphy told a case worker that she felt depressed and was "uncertain" whether she was having suicidal thoughts. The worker passed the information to Murphy's therapist, it says.

Police have said that Murphy was being treated for depression.

Andy Williams, a DYFS spokesman, cited privacy rules in declining to comment on specific cases.

In a hypothetical situation where no parent is available to care for children and DYFS is made aware of the matter, the agency's practice is to seek custody and make sure the children are in a suitable home. The first preference is with a relative.

Staff Writers Leslie Brody and Evonne Coutros contributed to this article. E-mail: ax@northjersey.com
 

7187779
   
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Missing woman's husband says he is innocent     

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

By JOSEPH AX
STAFF WRITER

 

The lawyer representing a hospitalized Emerson man declared his client's innocence Tuesday in the disappearance of his wife, while more than 200 police officers and volunteers conducted a fruitless search of thick woods near their home.

 
Liza Murphy left the house Aug. 19 after her husband, Joseph, accused her of having an affair and demanded a divorce, attorney Joseph Rem said.

"He told her he wanted her to leave the house by the end of the week," Rem said.

Five days later, Joseph Murphy stepped into the path of a fire official's car in Westwood in what police -- and Rem -- characterized as a suicide attempt.

Details emerged Tuesday about previous suicide attempts or threats by both Murphys, as well as the troubles that strained their marriage.

Liza Murphy, 42, faced two pending disorderly person complaints filed by her estranged brother, who lives across the street, and from a neighbor who often feuded with her, authorities said.

MULTIMEDIA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
JIM ANNESS / THE RECORD
 Photo gallery: Search for missing Emerson mom
(please enable pop-ups)
 
Officers were called to the neighborhood half a dozen times in recent years on charges that had gone "back and forth," said Emerson police Sgt. George Buono.

He also confirmed allegations by Rem and others that Liza Murphy had abused prescription drugs.

"It's certainly one aspect of the case that we've looked into. It's not the overriding thing," said Buono, who is heading the investigation into her disappearance. "It doesn't make me believe that she ran off any more or less than if she didn't have a drug problem."

Murphy had spent more than a year and a half undergoing substance abuse counseling and individual therapy, according to a court document filed Monday by the state Division of Youth and Family Services seeking custody of the couple's three children.

But a woman who says she has been best friends with Liza Murphy for 27 years dismissed the idea that she had addiction problems.

"She wasn't a drunk or anything or a drug addict, not at all," said Donna Woods, a Dumont resident. "They said, 'We want you to go,' and she complied."

Woods confirmed her friend had a relationship with another man but insisted "it wasn't sexual."

"It was just like friends, and maybe a little more than that. But there was no sex," she said.

"She was a good mom," said Woods, who has posted fliers in stores in the hopes of finding Murphy. "She is a great friend. She liked rock-and-roll music. I have such a hole in my heart. I feel like I lost a little sister."

On Aug. 20, an anonymous caller informed police that Liza Murphy was missing. They interviewed her husband, who told them she'd left the house after an argument a day earlier.

Joseph Murphy remained at Hackensack University Medical Center with severe injuries Tuesday. The couple's three children were staying with his sister.

Although police haven't identified him as a suspect, Rem said Murphy hired him because he felt he was being treated as one.

Buono said detectives interviewed Joseph Murphy several times. Despite earlier reports that he'd been uncooperative, Murphy has answered all of their questions, and his answers have remained consistent, the sergeant said.

Rem said his client is a recovering alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in 11 years. Murphy has been treated for depression, he said, and 17 years ago attempted suicide when the couple separated.

"The pressure of her being missing and him being a suspect in a murder that never occurred drove him to despondency," Rem said.

He said Murphy wrote three suicide notes -- one to his sister, one to his children, and one to his wife "because he believed, and still believes, that she was alive."

As the lawyer spoke, police officers from dozens of departments and numerous civilian volunteers continued a daylong search that turned up no clues.

In the absence of genuine leads, authorities said, it was their best option.

Divided into 20 teams, the searchers covered about 375 acres, including Emerson Woods, the United Water property near the Oradell Reservoir, Westwood Cemetery, Pascack Brook Park and the reservoir's shoreline, said police Capt. David Hayes.

With search-and-rescue volunteers guiding them, the teams pushed their way through chest-high brush and tangled brambles. They used electronic markers to denote anything suspicious, so that a GPS device could be used to locate the items later.

By 6:45 p.m., Mat Buonomo, a carpenter and bodyguard from Emerson, was going out on his fourth search of the area.

"My wife, Charlene, is an EMT," Buonomo said. "We'd hope people would be out looking if it were someone close to us.

"Being a bodyguard, I've done other searches before, but never for a missing person. Every little thing that's around -- everything you're walking around or over -- has you asking, 'Is this or could this be evidence of where she is?' "

Court papers filed by DYFS in Hackensack show that caseworkers were called to the Murphy home several times beginning in 2002, based on anonymous referrals and reports from Emerson police. The claims were never substantiated, the documents say.

In 2005, however, a New Jersey hospital worker told DYFS that Liza Murphy had called a suicide hot line, saying she wanted to kill herself, according to the papers, filed in family court. Murphy was involuntarily committed to a hospital and agreed to undergo therapy and substance abuse treatment as part of a "case plan" developed by the agency, the filing says.

As recently as May of this year, it says, Liza Murphy told a case worker that she felt depressed and was "uncertain" whether she was having suicidal thoughts. The worker passed the information to Murphy's therapist, it says.

Police have said that Murphy was being treated for depression.

Andy Williams, a DYFS spokesman, cited privacy rules in declining to comment on specific cases.

In a hypothetical situation where no parent is available to care for children and DYFS is made aware of the matter, the agency's practice is to seek custody and make sure the children are in a suitable home. The first preference is with a relative.

Staff Writers Leslie Brody and Evonne Coutros contributed to this article. E-mail: ax@northjersey.com
 

7187779

http://tinyurl.com/2eb928
   
 

[Sleeks]

What I find very disappointing is, I have seen or heard anything about this case in the tristate Metropolitan area.  Perhaps I missed it some how.  But I really do not see how that is possible.  Other than the previous posts from The Bergen Record, I have heard nothing.  I would really hate to believe that this case has not been as publicized because she is not a young woman who went missing but a grown woman with some personal issues instead.  Sorry folks - but woman, man, young or old - missing is still missing.  I don't think our media plays entirely fair here.

For instance when Kelsey Smith and Jesse Davis went missing the NYC media was all over those stories prior to them discovering their tragic ends.  EVERY DAY those stories were on the news more than once.

Here we have a case of a woman who is 38, with children, possibly having substance issues as well as possible marital issues; the media doesn't quite seem to care as much.  In truth the more people who know of this, the more help there could be in finding the lost.

And here is an even bigger news flash, seemingly there were domestic issues whether caused by herself or her husband.  Not everyone is great at pretending things are fine when they aren't.  So because of these domestic issues, society cares less???  I think it is time for people to stop feeling as if 'these things are not our business.'  Like Red explained in another post 'don't hide our heads in the sand.'  I am sure you all read the upsetting (at least) history of strife between Trenton Duckett's parents.  Truthfully any of those agencies and/or neighbors could have been honest, perhaps we would still have Trenton.  What a fiasco!!!

[bleachedblack]

Extensive search fails to find signs of missing mom

August 29, 2007
EMERSON, N.J - Still no sign of an Emerson woman whose husband tried to take his own life by stepping into traffic.

More than 200 police officers and volunteers conducted a systematic search of about 375 acres around the Oradell Reservoir Tuesday.

But there was no sign of Liza Murphy.

Her husband, Joseph, told police the mother of three left their home after an argument on August 19th.

His lawyer tells The Record of Bergen County his client told her to leave and demanded a divorce after accusing her of an affair.

Attorney Joseph Rem tells the newspaper the pressure of his wife missing and being a possible murder suspect drove his client to step into traffic. Rem says his client attempted suicide when the couple separated 17 years ago.

A friend of Liza Murphy's tells the newspaper she had a friendship with a man that was not sexual.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--missingmom0829aug29,0,6533192.story

[Patti]

A poster from the front page just posted this link...  The plot thickens!

LOCAL NEWS 
Missing woman's husband says he is innocent     

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

By JOSEPH AX
STAFF WRITER

 

The lawyer representing a hospitalized Emerson man declared his client's innocence Tuesday in the disappearance of his wife, while more than 200 police officers and volunteers conducted a fruitless search of thick woods near their home.

 
Liza Murphy left the house Aug. 19 after her husband, Joseph, accused her of having an affair and demanded a divorce, attorney Joseph Rem said.

"He told her he wanted her to leave the house by the end of the week," Rem said.

Five days later, Joseph Murphy stepped into the path of a fire official's car in Westwood in what police -- and Rem -- characterized as a suicide attempt.

Details emerged Tuesday about previous suicide attempts or threats by both Murphys, as well as the troubles that strained their marriage.

Liza Murphy, 42, faced two pending disorderly person complaints filed by her estranged brother, who lives across the street, and from a neighbor who often feuded with her, authorities said.

 Photo gallery: Search for missing Emerson mom
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Officers were called to the neighborhood half a dozen times in recent years on charges that had gone "back and forth," said Emerson police Sgt. George Buono.

He also confirmed allegations by Rem and others that Liza Murphy had abused prescription drugs.

"It's certainly one aspect of the case that we've looked into. It's not the overriding thing," said Buono, who is heading the investigation into her disappearance. "It doesn't make me believe that she ran off any more or less than if she didn't have a drug problem."

Murphy had spent more than a year and a half undergoing substance abuse counseling and individual therapy, according to a court document filed Monday by the state Division of Youth and Family Services seeking custody of the couple's three children.

But a woman who says she has been best friends with Liza Murphy for 27 years dismissed the idea that she had addiction problems.

"She wasn't a drunk or anything or a drug addict, not at all," said Donna Woods, a Dumont resident. "They said, 'We want you to go,' and she complied."

Woods confirmed her friend had a relationship with another man but insisted "it wasn't sexual."

"It was just like friends, and maybe a little more than that. But there was no sex," she said.

"She was a good mom," said Woods, who has posted fliers in stores in the hopes of finding Murphy. "She is a great friend. She liked rock-and-roll music. I have such a hole in my heart. I feel like I lost a little sister."

On Aug. 20, an anonymous caller informed police that Liza Murphy was missing. They interviewed her husband, who told them she'd left the house after an argument a day earlier.

Joseph Murphy remained at Hackensack University Medical Center with severe injuries Tuesday. The couple's three children were staying with his sister.

Although police haven't identified him as a suspect, Rem said Murphy hired him because he felt he was being treated as one.

Buono said detectives interviewed Joseph Murphy several times. Despite earlier reports that he'd been uncooperative, Murphy has answered all of their questions, and his answers have remained consistent, the sergeant said.

Rem said his client is a recovering alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in 11 years. Murphy has been treated for depression, he said, and 17 years ago attempted suicide when the couple separated.

"The pressure of her being missing and him being a suspect in a murder that never occurred drove him to despondency," Rem said.

He said Murphy wrote three suicide notes -- one to his sister, one to his children, and one to his wife "because he believed, and still believes, that she was alive."

As the lawyer spoke, police officers from dozens of departments and numerous civilian volunteers continued a daylong search that turned up no clues.

In the absence of genuine leads, authorities said, it was their best option.

Divided into 20 teams, the searchers covered about 375 acres, including Emerson Woods, the United Water property near the Oradell Reservoir, Westwood Cemetery, Pascack Brook Park and the reservoir's shoreline, said police Capt. David Hayes.

With search-and-rescue volunteers guiding them, the teams pushed their way through chest-high brush and tangled brambles. They used electronic markers to denote anything suspicious, so that a GPS device could be used to locate the items later.

By 6:45 p.m., Mat Buonomo, a carpenter and bodyguard from Emerson, was going out on his fourth search of the area.

"My wife, Charlene, is an EMT," Buonomo said. "We'd hope people would be out looking if it were someone close to us.

"Being a bodyguard, I've done other searches before, but never for a missing person. Every little thing that's around -- everything you're walking around or over -- has you asking, 'Is this or could this be evidence of where she is?' "

Court papers filed by DYFS in Hackensack show that caseworkers were called to the Murphy home several times beginning in 2002, based on anonymous referrals and reports from Emerson police. The claims were never substantiated, the documents say.

In 2005, however, a New Jersey hospital worker told DYFS that Liza Murphy had called a suicide hot line, saying she wanted to kill herself, according to the papers, filed in family court. Murphy was involuntarily committed to a hospital and agreed to undergo therapy and substance abuse treatment as part of a "case plan" developed by the agency, the filing says.

As recently as May of this year, it says, Liza Murphy told a case worker that she felt depressed and was "uncertain" whether she was having suicidal thoughts. The worker passed the information to Murphy's therapist, it says.

Police have said that Murphy was being treated for depression.

Andy Williams, a DYFS spokesman, cited privacy rules in declining to comment on specific cases.

In a hypothetical situation where no parent is available to care for children and DYFS is made aware of the matter, the agency's practice is to seek custody and make sure the children are in a suitable home. The first preference is with a relative.

Staff Writers Leslie Brody and Evonne Coutros contributed to this article. E-mail: ax@northjersey.com
 

[2NJSons_Mom]

Patty, thanks....I posted the same this morning...see above.