The New Hampshire medical examiner concluded that 62-year-old Pamela Murphy had been dead for several hours by the time her husband came upon her lifeless body in the living room of their Belmont home and called 911.
On the morning of March 16, Pamela had driven her husband, Richard Murphy, to work in Laconia and returned home to 31 Tee Dee Drive sometime around 8 a.m. That was the last time Richard would see his wife alive. Investigators say that sometime between 8:20 a.m. and 12:20 p.m. that day, Pamela was murdered by her son, Nicholas Murphy, who lived in a small shed on the property.
An autopsy revealed Pamela suffered sharp and blunt force trauma to the head and neck. A hatchet recovered by police in a wooded area near her home had traces of blood and tested positive for her DNA, New Hampshire State Police Sgt. Matthew Amatucci, the case’s lead investigator, told a judge Tuesday.
The virtual evidentiary and bail hearing, hosted by Belknap County Superior Court, was the first time investigators have publicly discussed the details of the murder case against Nicholas Murphy. Defense attorneys requested the hearing to challenge whether the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office has sufficient evidence to hold him pending trial. Judge James O’Neill III is expected to issue a written order at a later date.
Pamela, Richard and Nicholas were the only three people who lived at 31 Tee Dee Drive, and they had called it home for many years, Amatucci said. But the relationship between Pamela and Nicholas had been a “very strange” one for some time, he explained.
“Nicholas would refer to his mother as the devil,” Amatucci testified, adding that Nicholas routinely spoke about hearing his mother’s voice in his head. “When he would go inside the residence, he would wear headphones in an attempt to block out the voices.”
Less than a month before her murder, Pamela tried to gain legal guardianship of her son and get him civilly committed to the state’s psychiatric hospital, Amatucci said. This was after multiple prior attempts to get him evaluated and access to treatment. She told others she feared Nicholas and couldn’t trust him.
“She was growing very frustrated that he was coming into the residence, robbing them blind, pawning items,” Amatucci said. “He was essentially ruining her life.”
Prosecutors say Nicholas spoke to his sister on the day of Pamela’s murder and told her that he’d been in the shed that morning and did not enter the mobile home where his parents lived. Although a cigarette rolling machine used by Richard that morning had gone missing and was later found by investigators in the shed. Amatucci said the evidence implies Nicholas did enter the mobile home at some point after Richard went to work.
Richard checked on his son the night before at about 10 o’clock and, through a window, observed him asleep, Amatucci testified. Richard did not see Nicholas or interact with him on the morning of Pamela’s death.
Pamela’s shift at the Lane Bryant Outlet in Tilton was scheduled to begin on March 16 at 1 p.m., but coworkers told investigators she never showed up and attempts to contact her were unsuccessful.
The only call made from Pamela’s cellphone that day was at 4:25 p.m. to 911. Investigators say that Richard had just returned home from work and used his wife’s cellphone, which was later found by detectives in a purse near her body. The purse also contained $89 in cash and prescription medication, which led investigators to quickly rule out theft as a possible motive for her murder. There was also no evidence that Pamela was sexually assaulted or that she had struggled with her attacker, Amatucci said.
During Tuesday’s hearing, public defender Justin Littlefield focused on the possibility that other people, and not Nicholas, may have entered the Murphy’s mobile home on March 16. He walked Amatucci through the following scenarios: A squatter had previously been in a home nearby, prompting authorities to respond; dozens of people reside in the mobile home park, which includes approximately 100 units that are within walking distance of 31 Tee Dee Drive; and the residence is located off Route 106, a heavily-traveled state road.
In addition to the hatchet, investigators also seized rusty garden sheers, kitchen knives, a Phillips screwdriver, red and black flashlights, an aluminum baseball bat, and other tools and objects that could have been used as a murder weapon.
“No weapon was found next to the body?” Littlefield asked.
“No, there was not,” Amatucci replied.
Littlefield suggested that the hatchet recovered a couple of days after the murder could have been placed in the woods by anyone, especially given its proximity to the house that had prior issues with squatters.
Amatucci was the state’s only witness Tuesday. The judge asked attorneys to submit written arguments on the issue of bail following his testimony.