Colorado Springs man accused of killing 2 siblings pleads not guilty by reason of insanity
Malik Murphy, 20, has pleaded not guilty to the killing of his two siblings, and his lawyers are preparing a defense of insanity.
Murphy is accused of fatally stabbing his brother and sister, Noah and Sophia, last October.
Monday, Murphy’s parents released a statement after his hearing.
“Today was doubly hard, coming almost a year to the day since this terrible crime. We are still heartbroken, but we are steadfast in refusing to run away from God and give in to fear and hopelessness.
Every court date is gut-wrenching for us as parents trying to love our children and each other the best we can while grappling with these terrible circumstances. But as the case advances through the legal system, we reaffirm our trust in the Lord to bring justice for Sophia and Noah and healing and deliverance for Malik — maybe even a relationship with him ourselves in the future.”
District Judge G. David Miller ruled that Murphy is competent to stand trial. The Gazette reports his plea will trigger a new round of psychiatric evaluations focusing on whether he knew what he was doing and understood the difference between right and wrong.
Court records say Murphy told investigators that he had been thinking about killing everyone in the house for months “to be by myself.”
Murphy is still being held in the El Paso County jail with no bond. He will next be in court on Nov. 5.
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Malik Murphy was formally charged with two counts of murder for the deaths of his siblings Sophia and Noah on Friday morning.
He also is facing one count of attempted murder for stabbing his father Jefferson Murphy.
A week after Malik confessed to fatally stabbing his 7-year-old brother and 5-year-old sister, his family is still in shock.
Murphy appeared in court in Colorado Springs for a preliminary hearing on Friday.
No cameras were allowed in the courtroom, but once Murphy entered, his mother was clearly distraught, telling her family “he doesn’t look the same”.
Malik was charged but his charges weren’t read aloud. Instead, Judge David Miller waved his 35 days and postponed the preliminary by 90 days.
One of the family members in court that spoke to the media last week was Murphy’s uncle, Marcus Mason.
“Malik is a sweet kid, and he didn’t cause much problems and he’s caring. If you ever met him, you would never think he would be aggressive or violent in any kind of way. He has no history of violence,” said Mason.
But Malik does have a history of mental health issues.
According to a reliable source and health professional, Murphy had the idea to kill his family back in 2015.
READ MORE: Source: “He was going to do it. He just waited for the right time.
The source claims two years ago, Murphy was spotted hiding under his bed with knives and threatened to stab his family.
It was for that reason, in the fall of 2015, he was admitted on an emergency basis to a youth treatment facility in Colorado Springs.
Murphy’s preliminary hearing has now been set for February 9 at 9 a.m.
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19-yr-old with previous mental health problems accused of stabbing siblings in Colorado Springs
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