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Florida nonprofit renews push for answers in 'severed leg' cold case

Non-profit Project Cold Case will be distributing 'playing cards' featuring Kelly Moriarty's story this summer, and her brother is now offering $10,000 for answers.

PLANT CITY, Fla. — What happened to Kelly Moriarty?

Right now, there's a renewed push for information in the nearly 12-year-old cold case.

The Bradenton woman's leg washed ashore on a St. Petersburg beach in December of 2011, making headlines at the time. However, no one was ever arrested in connection to her death.

Kelly would have turned 50 years old last Friday. 

Her brother, Brenden Moriarty, said there is not a day that goes by when he doesn't think about his sister. 

"While we don't relive the gory facts every day, you never forget them," Moriarty said. "The reality is, there's somebody out there that dismembered my sister. That person or those people are still out there walking around and have not answered for what was absolutely a brutal, brutal crime." 

Brenden Moriarty said his sister, then 38 years old, was in a relationship with 61-year-old Doris 'Pat' Carter.

According to a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office investigation, the last time either woman was seen was at Pat's home in Plant City, where Pat had recently tried to evict her daughter and son-in-law. 

Brenden Moriarty said, "They were served with an eviction notice because Pat wanted them out of her house. That's the day before. And then we know the two women have never been seen since." 

However, without enough evidence, no one was ever arrested in connection to either disappearance and the case went cold. 

"We have had no new information whatsoever and probably anywhere from five to seven years," Brenden Moriarty said. 

Now, Project Cold Case, a Tallahassee-based non-profit that shines a light on unsolved homicides, is working to help the family get answers. This summer, Kelly's image and story will be distributed on what they call a 'playing card'. 

"There's never a perfect murder, right? So I know somebody has a piece of information," Brenden Moriarty said. 

Brenden Moriarty is now offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. 

"That would be probably the happiest day of my life is stroking that check for $10,000 to the person who helped bring this closure to our family," he said.

If you know anything about this case, you can reach out to Crime Stoppers or the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. 

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