The Gary Murphy Assassination, A San Francisco Cold Case
Explicit content warning
08/24/20 • 86 min
Former reporter turned private eye Mike Spencer looks back at a case of his from 1998. Gary Murphy, a three-time convicted felon, came to the door of the halfway house he managed in San Francisco's quiet Outer Sunset District. A man wanted information about the program. When Murphy turned his back to get a business card, the man shot him twice in the back. In a panic, Murphy jumped through a second floor window trying to escape. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The gunman fled to an awaiting car and escaped.
Did Murphy's biker, criminal past catch up to him or did the murder-for-hire have something to do with the ongoing custody battle that Murphy was fighting for his 6-year-old daughter. His adversary in the custody battle? The little girl's grandmother, a former client of Oakland private investigator Mike Spencer.
Almost nothing about the case has come out since a 2004 article by investigative reporter A.C. Thompson, now of ProPublica. Spencer interviews Thompson to rehash the case and talk about some new developments Spencer uncovered.
Former reporter turned private eye Mike Spencer looks back at a case of his from 1998. Gary Murphy, a three-time convicted felon, came to the door of the halfway house he managed in San Francisco's quiet Outer Sunset District. A man wanted information about the program. When Murphy turned his back to get a business card, the man shot him twice in the back. In a panic, Murphy jumped through a second floor window trying to escape. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The gunman fled to an awaiting car and escaped.
Did Murphy's biker, criminal past catch up to him or did the murder-for-hire have something to do with the ongoing custody battle that Murphy was fighting for his 6-year-old daughter. His adversary in the custody battle? The little girl's grandmother, a former client of Oakland private investigator Mike Spencer.
Almost nothing about the case has come out since a 2004 article by investigative reporter A.C. Thompson, now of ProPublica. Spencer interviews Thompson to rehash the case and talk about some new developments Spencer uncovered.
Next Episode
Episode 2, Gary Murphy Assassination, An Intriguing Police Memo and a Search Warrant
Host Mike Spencer obtains a San Francisco Police detective memo and copy of a returned search warrant regarding the June 12, 1998, murder for hire of independent biker Gary Vincent Murphy. However, the 6-page memo that details the police investigation ultimately just leads to more question than answers.
Spencer also shares how suspects in the Murphy shooting death were also charged in a notorious Piedmont sex assault and robbery of a woman in June 1998. Until this podcast, no media has ever linked the two cases. The search warrant names Spencer's former client, who battled Murphy for custody of his 6-year-old daughter. as a suspect in his murder. San Francisco police very early had promising leads in the Murphy case but the San Francisco District Attorney's Office declined to prosecute any of the suspects.
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