A Colorado teen is behind bars after police claimed he stabbed his little brother and sister as they slept in their beds on Monday night.
The Denver Post reports that Malik Vincent Murphy, 19, allegedly stabbed his brother, Noah, 5, and his sister, Sophia, 5, in their family home off of 900 block of Carlisle Street in Colorado Springs. Police arrested him the following morning.
According to court records, Murphy admitted to the stabbings and said he thought his little sister screamed while he stabbed her, although he wasn’t certain. He said he stabbed Sophia three times, then stabbed Noah three times, killing them both.
Per uncle: this is Noah 7 & Sophia 5. Their brother is accused of killing them in CO springs this morning. There are no words. #9news pic.twitter.com/7VHhRFqLsz
— Anastasiya Bolton (@abolton9news) October 17, 2017
The suspect’s father, Jefferson Murphy, told officers that screaming woke him up. He followed the screams down to the basement area, where his son confronted him with a knife, and reportedly stabbed him in the neck. The father fought back and managed to push his son into the garage and call the police. Jefferson Murphy told authorities that his teen son had talked previously about killing his family.
Lt. Howard Black, spokesman for Colorado Springs police, said authorities arrived to the home at around 1:11 a.m. on Tuesday morning. The three victims were rushed to a local hospital. Jefferson Murphy survived while his two youngest children were pronounced dead.
Police arrested Murphy and during questioning, the suspect allegedly admitted he bought a knife at a local Walmart store several months ago, with the intent of killing his family.
“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 read.
The ordeal left the neighbors in shock. Residents of the neighborhood said that the suspect would often play basketball with his family in their driveway, which included two additional siblings, a 17-year-old brother and a 12-year-old sister who weren’t injured on the night of the attacks.
“The children were just beautiful. Beautiful,” said step-grandmother, Vicky Mason. “Malik babysat his brothers and sisters many times. He was very, very good with his brothers and sisters.”
“He was angry towards society. He felt he didn’t fit in. Toward the family, he was a very loving guy.”
Bobbie McCottrell, the children’s great aunt, told authorities that she thought the suspect likely had a mental illness. She said that earlier this year, he was arrested after setting his parent’s SUV on fire. He was arrested, prescribed court-ordered medications.
“I think he had mental problems. That’s a tragedy,” McCottrell said. “I’ve just been praying. Lord have mercy.”
Murphy remains behind bars at the El Paso County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder. He has no bond.
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: Police Handout]
