TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Family, Co-Workers Shocked By Inmate's Arrest In Girl's Death

ADVERTISEMENT

By ANTHONY CORMIER and KATE SPINNER

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: August 13, 2008

Patrick Dewayne Murphy

NORTH PORT - Patrick Murphy was looking for work in the construction boom when he left Kentucky and followed his parents, Bill and Debra, to Southwest Florida in 2003.

He landed jobs as a roofer, but family members in Kentucky say they lost touch with him after his father died of a heart attack in 2004.

"We never really heard from Patrick after that," said his uncle, Harold Murphy.

Court records show that Patrick Murphy and his mother lost their home to foreclosure a few years later. He stole to pay for drugs, court records show, and for the past seven months, he has been in state prison in Polk County.

His arrests for petty crimes such as drug possession and theft started in May 2006, just before the bank initiated foreclosure on the Omela Terrace home where he lived with his mother.

The home sits about two miles away from the spot where Coralrose Fullwood's body was found in September 2006.

Murphy's first local arrest came in May of that year, when a deputy caught him parked in Lemon Bay Park. Officials say Murphy tried to stash a baggie of drugs inside a Mountain Dew can. He was charged with a felony, but the case was dropped.

Later in May, a bank filed the foreclosure, claiming the family had not made a mortgage payment since December 2005.

As the foreclosure went through the legal system, records show that Murphy moved out, lived off-and-on with his girlfriend in Punta Gorda and worked for a roofing firm in Charlotte County.

Murphy's arrest in the 6-year-old's killing stunned his former employers at Flash Custom Metal Roofing in Port Charlotte.

"He was very polite, friendly and a very, very hard worker. We're in shock," said Carol Wicks, who works in the roofing company's business office. Her son and grandson own and run the business.

Murphy began working for the roofing company on June 23, 2003, working his way up to a supervisory position.

"He was one of our lead men, an excellent worker, very, very good worker," Wicks said.

Wicks said that Murphy was "bright-eyed and healthy" when he first came to work with them, but he seemed to change in early 2007, during his last few months on the job.

"I think he started doing some drugs along the way," Wicks said.

Murphy lost his job after he was jailed on a probation violation. His last day of work was March 28, 2007, according to the company's records, Wicks said.

Court documents show he went on a small crime spree in January 2007, stealing vehicles and equipment to buy drugs.

On Jan. 3, he was booked after allegedly stealing a truck from a Port Charlotte home and stashing it on Omela Terrace. On Jan. 9, police say he stole an all-terrain vehicle.

The ATV was parked in Murphy's yard on Omela Terrace, but the house was virtually abandoned. An officer who searched inside the home found only a wooden bed frame, a pack of Basic cigarettes, some clothes, a loaded 9mm pistol and a dog.

The dog belonged to Murphy, but animal control workers took it to a shelter. When Murphy showed up to claim the animal, he was arrested.

His next arrest came in mid-June. Records show that he lifted three generators and tools from a shed. In police documents, authorities say he was selling the items to support an addiction to methamphetamines and narcotics.

About six months later, he was sentenced to two years in state prison for the burglaries. In prison, he was forced to give a DNA sample -- which authorities say links him to the Fullwood killing.

His mother declined comment Tuesday.

But his uncle says that Murphy grew up as the youngest of four children in a strict household. His father was a truck driver who worked a lot, but tried to keep close tabs on him, Harold Murphy said.

Most of the relatives who still live near Bowling Green, Ky., knew that Murphy was in prison for theft, but Harold Murphy was surprised to hear his nephew had been charged with the girl's killing.

"I just can't imagine him doing something like that," Harold Murphy said. "He was a good kid, real nice. He got caught stealing a couple times, but I just can't imagine this."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT