Awful Details About The Teen Who Murdered His Brother (7) And Sister (5) Because He Wanted To Live Alone
Malik Vincent Murphy, 19, fatally stabbed his siblings while they were sleeping.
Denver Post On a Tuesday night in a quiet neighborhood in Colorado Springs, the unthinkable happened. Malik Vincent Murphy, 19, stabbed his 5-year-old sister, Sophia, and his 7-year-old brother, Noah, while they slept in their beds in the basement room all three siblings shared.
Murphy told police he thinks he stabbed Sophia three times as she yelled his name. He then stabbed his brother three times.
His father, Jefferson Murphy, said he woke up to the sounds of screaming coming from the basement, and when he ran downstairs, his son stabbed him in the neck.
Fortunately, Jefferson Murphy was able to push his son into the garage and hold him down till police arrived at their home after 1 a.m. All three victims were taken to a nearby hospital.
Jefferson Murphy survived, but the children did not.
Malik Murphy told police officers that he bought a knife from Walmart several months ago and decided then that he wanted to kill his family. His father also said that the teen had talked before about killing family members.
“Malik Murphy stated his plan was to kill his entire family and then bury them in the backyard, and this would allow him to be alone in his residence,” the affidavit reads.
His great aunt, Bobbie McCottrell, believes her nephew has a mental illness. “I think he had mental problems,” McCottrell said. “That’s a tragedy. I’ve just been praying. Lord have mercy.”
This past March, Malik Murphy was arrested for burning his parents' SUV in Effingham, Illinois. He was arrested on arson charges, but his parents asked for the charges to be dropped.
The teen was then placed on court-ordered medications and released to his parents' care.
People who knew the family are shocked and said they were close.
“Malik babysat his brothers and sisters many times. He was very, very good with his brothers and sisters,” Stepgrandmother Vicky Mason said, also citing that the teen was planning to return to community college.
Malik Murphy is currently being held without bond for investigation of two counts of first-degree murder.
Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, true crime, dating, relationships and everything in between. Every Wednesday at 10:20 p.m. you can ask her any and all questions about self-love, dating, and relationships LIVE on YourTango’s Facebook page. You can follow her on Instagram (@blackw00d) and Twitter (@emztweetz).