GUILTY CO - Liam, 9, & Madigan Murphy, 6, murdered in their Castle Rock home, 23 May 2011

I didn't see this anywhere else, and I haven't started a thread here before (forgive me if I mess anything up :crazy. She apparently called 911 yesterday, telling them she was killing herself. They asked if she had children in her home, and she told them "they were already in heaven."

She was treated for superficial lacerations on her wrists, and released to Castle Rock police yesterday afternoon.

Stories like this always really get me. I have a 13-year-old and a 4-year-old.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_18121053

Castle Rock woman distraught over divorce faces murder charges in 2 killings
By Carlos Illescas and Kieran Nicholson
The Denver Post
POSTED: 05/23/2011 09:51:03 AM MDT


CASTLE ROCK — The mother arrested Monday for the murder of her two children called police at 7:48 a.m. to report that she was trying to commit suicide.

When asked by a police dispatcher whether there were any children in the home, the mother replied: "They are in heaven."

When police arrived at the Founders Village home of Kelli Lynn Murphy, they found 9-year-old Liam and his sister, Madigan, 6, dead in their bedrooms. Castle Rock Police Chief Tony Lane said the bodies had no visible signs of injury.

Murphy, 41, was treated at the hospital for wounds to her wrists and arrested Monday afternoon, Lane said. She faces two counts of first-degree murder, child abuse and possibly other charges in the deaths of her

Police say the children's father, Robert Eric Murphy, is not a suspect.

The last year had been a turbulent one for the couple. They filed for bankruptcy and divorce, records indicate, and Kelli Murphy got a protection order. A hearing was slated Monday to discuss a parenting schedule.

I'm disappointed they haven't shown her picture yet. You would think the media would at least have her mug shot. I can't find anything on Facebook, either.

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_18128314

Castle Rock mother arrested in children's deaths appears in court

By Kieran Nicholson
The Denver Post
POSTED: 05/24/2011 09:41:49 AM MDT


Read more: Castle Rock mother arrested in children's deaths appears in court - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/ci_18128314#ixzz1NHqCuGMC

A 41-year-old mother accused of killing her two children appeared in a Douglas County courtroom this morning.

Kelli Lynn Murphy's hands and feet were shackled as her flip-flops shuffled slowly through the courtroom for her first appearance in the case. Dressed in a dark, Douglas County jail jumpsuit, Murphy's wrists were covered in bandages and she hung her head throughout most of the proceedings.
Accused of the deaths of her 9-year-old son Liam and 6-year-old daughter Madigan, Murphy did not address the court.

Thanks for the thread DomCasual. This is such a sad, sad story...it just breaks my heart that a mother can murder her own children and then, of course, not be able to follow through and end her own life. She had the guts to kill her kids but not herself. This just infuriates me that these poor kids are dead.

oh of course she calls 911 for herself

she wasn't capable of picking up the phone prior to murdering her children though

Blondie in Spokane said:

Thanks for the thread DomCasual. This is such a sad, sad story...it just breaks my heart that a mother can murder her own children and then, of course, not be able to follow through and end her own life. She had the guts to kill her kids but not herself. This just infuriates me that these poor kids are dead.

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It's always weird when they are geographically close, which this one is. I don't live in Colorado anymore; but all of my family lives right around Castle Rock.

I just can't get past this one. I keep looking at the raw footage from her hearing today - trying to wrap my head around it. Those poor, poor children. I (and every other parent worth their salt) go to great lengths to protect my kids from even the slightest harms. The thought of deliberately hurting them is so foreign. As of two days ago, there were probably people that thought this woman was a great mom.

I've had such a dark feeling in my heart since this first came up. I need to stop thinking about it; but I just can't.

From November 2012:

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_22074051/jury-gets-case-castle-rock-mom-accused-killing

Prosecutors said Kelli Murphy smothered and killed her two young children in May 2011 because she was not going to share custody of them with anyone else. On Tuesday, a jury agreed...

Douglas County District Judge Vincent White immediately sentenced her to two terms of life without parole after the nine men and three women on the jury found her guilty of two counts of first-degree murder after deliberation and two counts of first-degree murder of a victim under 12 years old.

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