Whitney Murphy of Idaho was believed to have been shot by intruders in 2014 but authorities have now charged her husband Jimmy Lee Murphy.
Whitney Murphy (Facebook)
Cops who initially believed that an Idaho woman was killed in a 2014 home invasion have now accused the woman’s husband.
Last week, police charged Jimmy Lee Murphy, 32, with one count of first-degree murder in connection with the Oct. 26, 2014, fatal shooting of Whitney Murphy, who was shot once in the head with a shotgun, the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement.
Soon after the shooting, which also wounded a nearby neighbor, officers arrived on the scene to find Whitney dead. Investigators initially developed a theory on the killing in which Whitney returned to the couple’s Burley home and interrupted an armed robbery in progress, the statement says.
Nothing was missing from the home aside from Jimmy’s shotgun, which police believe was used in the killing.
That gun was never been recovered.
Jimmy Murphy told detectives he came home that night to find his wife killed, the statement said.
According to the statement, he told police that, during the crime, he was out washing his truck and running an errand for his boss. Murphy had shotgun residue on his hands that he at first attributed to a recent hunt, the statement alleges. However, Murphy later allegedly recanted, saying he hadn’t been hunting because he lacked a license to do so, according to the statement.
Investigators further allege Murphy provided conflicting information about his whereabouts the night of the murder, the statement says.
Murphy, police allege, took out a $650,000 life insurance policy on his wife weeks before her killing. But the insurance company denied Murphy’s claim, according to the statement.
Police allegedly found text messages Jimmy had sent to Whitney on the night of the murder, and believe he was luring her home to her death.
The Idaho States Journal, citing court records, reports that three years ago, Murphy was confronted by one of Whitney’s relatives inside a store. The relative accused him of killing his wife.
Murphy allegedly replied, “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”
Murphy is due in court later this week. He has not yet entered a plea and it was unclear if he has an attorney to comment on his behalf.
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