Psychic ‘sees’ Patricia Moriarty has been so haunted by the disappearance of her sister and her infant nephew in Hawaii 24 years ago that she hired a psychic to divine what happened.
death of missing
isle woman
The woman's sister hired
a divinator to solve the mystery
of her disappearanceBy Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.comThe answer she received was that her sister and the child met a violent end and that their bodies were buried on the Windward side of Oahu.
Whether the information is accurate or not, it has convinced Moriarty to come out here herself to find out.
"We're just trying to pinpoint the area which she (the psychic) was talking about," said Moriarty from her California home. "She's been used in police work before, and I believe her."
"My sister and her son are dead. They didn't just disappear."
Charlotte Moriarty was 31 years old, and her son Marx was 6 months old when both disappeared on June 21, 1977, leaving behind only a baby's stroller at a Haaula bus stop.
According to Honolulu police reports, Moriarty took her son out for a walk at about 9 a.m., and the stroller was found at 1 p.m. at a bus stop at 54-295 Kamehameha Hwy.
Most of the information comes from Marx's father, Mark Barnes, who filed the report on July 10, 1977, more than two weeks after he found the stroller.
In the report, Barnes explained to police that Moriarty had "been missing on several prior occasions, but she had returned home all right" and that he thought this incident was another one of Moriarty's "'taking off' for no reason."
But Patricia Moriarty said she believes her sister would never leave without contacting her family. Now, armed with the psychic's theory, Moriarty hopes to arrive in Hawaii this summer to put an end to haunting memories.
"I just had a dream within this past week about her," said Moriarty. "I woke up sobbing."
Charlotte Moriarty's daughter, Jennifer Monnheimer, will join her aunt on the trip.
It will be a visit to Hawaii that has been delayed for 25 years. Monnheimer was on her way to Oahu that summer to see her mother and new half brother when both were reported missing.
"I can't explain what it's like to not know where a parent is," said Monnheimer, who was 8 years old when Moriarty disappeared. "You're always looking, always scanning every crowd."
"But I know she's dead. They both are dead and they were murdered," said Monnheimer, who said the psychic's theory confirmed what she always believed.
"She loved her daughter more than anything," said Moriarty. "She never would have missed Jenny's visit to Hawaii."
Charlotte Moriarty, Barnes and Marx lived on Hanaimoa Street in Haaula, where some neighbors still remember them.
"Friendly couple, mind their own business. They used to fight but it wasn't anything serious," said 77-year-old Hanaimoa resident Joe Kahele. "I know they had a baby, and they used to take good care of the baby."
Patricia Moriarty said she has talked to Kahele before, as well as other neighbors and the various Honolulu police detectives who handled her sister's case over the years.
CrimeStoppers coordinator Detective Letha DeCaires said Moriarty called her to try to get police to start actively investigating her sister's case based on the psychic's information.
DeCaires confirmed that the psychic Moriarty hired had worked with police in other states but said that the Honolulu Police Department "does not rely on psychics."
"We're always reviewing cases, but this is one of the more unusual ones," said DeCaires. "Obviously you're never going to get a search warrant based on a psychic's review of information."
Moriarty's case is still open and its disposition filed as "pending" with HPD.
In the report, Barnes also told police he was concerned about his son because Moriarty had been "seeing a psychiatrist," and he was afraid that she was "not really capable of caring for (Marx) in a competent manner."
Patricia Moriarty, however, disputes much of the information Barnes gave police.
While Barnes described Charlotte as his wife, Moriarty said they were never married. Moriarty also said Marx was 6 months old at the time, not 3 months old as Barnes related to police.
Barnes, who lives in California, could not be reached for comment. His wife, Janine Barnes, said that she and her husband are getting divorced and that he did not live with her anymore.
However, Janine Barnes said her husband had told her about Charlotte Moriarty and his son's disappearance in Hawaii. She also said that Barnes told her Charlotte Moriarty was not his wife.
While planning the trip to Hawaii, Patricia Moriarty also said she has started the process of declaring her sister dead, as suggested by HPD's Missing Persons Division, by requesting a copy of her file to present to the court.
Monnheimer said even if she and her aunt are unsuccessful finding Charlotte and Marx, at least they will know they did everything they could.
"For years the search never ended, it never stopped," said Monnheimer, who at 32 is a year older than her mother was when she disappeared. "But by then I guess I'll have to find a way to go on with my life."