Background: Jefferson City Correctional Center where Amy L. Murray was employed (Facebook). Inset: Amy L. Murray (Miller County Sheriff”s Office).
A Missouri woman who formerly worked as a prison nurse reached a plea agreement in connection with her husband’s poisoning death after evidence surfaced that she was having an affair with an inmate.
Amy L. Murray, 47, entered an Alford plea on Wednesday to the second-degree murder of her husband, 37-year-old Joshua Murray. In December 2018, Joshua Murray’s body was found in the burnt remains of the couple’s home in Iberia, Missouri, and the medical examiner determined that he had died prior to the fire. According to a probable cause statement obtained by local CBS affiliate KRCG at the time, he had died as a result of being poisoned with ethylene glycol, or antifreeze.
Authorities also determined that the fire was a result of arson.
According to the probable cause statement, it was discovered that Amy Murray was having an affair with an inmate at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, where she was employed as a nurse.
Local NBC affiliate KYTV reported that investigators listened to phone calls between Amy Murray and the inmate, Eugene Claypool, who was convicted of second-degree murder in 2001 and is serving a life sentence. During those phone calls, which took place before the fire, Amy Murray reportedly expressed her desire to divorce her husband.
On Dec. 11, 2018, Amy Murray told police that she, her 11-year-old son, and the two family dogs had taken a trip to McDonald’s. When they returned home, the house was on fire. Amy Murray told police that she was not able to go inside the house because it was filled with smoke.
Joshua Murray’s body was found on the bed in the master bedroom.
After the fire, Amy Murray told Claypool that her husband was now “out of the picture,” and the two could now marry. KRCG reported that Amy Murray also proposed hiring Claypool an attorney so he could appeal to have his sentence reduced and potentially be released.
Amy Murray was originally charged with four felonies in connection with the death of her husband — first-degree murder, armed criminal action, second-degree arson, and tampering with physical evidence. She was also charged with first-degree sexual abuse and three counts of offender abuse by an employee of the Department of Corrections in connection with her affair with Claypool.
On Tuesday, Amy Murray accepted an Alford plea to one count of second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
