Investigators: Husband Of Missing NJ Woman Is Not Who He Says He Is

ENGLEWOOD, NJ(CBSNewYork) -- There has been a stunning twist in the case of a missing mother.

Investigators say the woman's husband is not the man he claims to be.

As CBS2's Christine Sloan reported, the disappearance of Liza Stellatos Murphy of Emerson in August 2007, led to a massive search in Bergen County.

Now, prosecutors say while investigating her disappearance they discovered that her husband was living under a false name.

He had apparently been using the identity before he even met her. Everyone knew the man as Joseph Murphy, but investigators say he's actually Paschal Delahunty an Irish citizen living in the U.S. illegally.

"The first time I became aware of it is when we met with the prosecutor's office probably six to eight weeks ago," attorney Joseph Raia said.

Raia said Murphy is Delahunty, but he doesn't know why his client assumed the identity of a dead man.

Stellatos Murphy's brother who lives across the street from Delahunty wants some answers.

He hasn't spoken to his brother-in-law or the couple's three children since his sister went missing.

"If anybody has any information on the disappearance of Liza Murphy please contact the authorities. We'd appreciate it," Anthony Stellatos said.

Another brother, Michael, made serious accusations in a phone interview, even though Delahunty has never been charged in his wife's disappearance.

"I think he did something very wrong," Michael said, "I am Greek. When they describe a Greek tragedy I guess you can take a picture of our family."

"I represent him on the current charges of having a false driver's license. I don'tknow anything about alleged wrongdoing by anybody else," Raia said.

He said there is no evidence to rule out the possibility that Stellatos-Murphy didn't just walk away from her life.

"It's been horrible. The family has been through the ringer over the past seven or eight years," he said.

Delahunty's attorney said they will be back in court on Monday to ask the judge to reduce his $350,000 bail

Prosecutors say Delahunty used the false name in 1990 to become a permanent resident of the United States.

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