ALEXIS MURPHY - 17 yo/ Convicted: Randy Taylor - Nelson County VA

New details in case of missing Nelson County teen Alexis Murphy

Web Staff, news@wdbj7.com
POSTED: 02:24 PM EDT Sep 22, 2013    
UPDATED: 06:03 PM EDT Sep 22, 2013




NELSON CO., Va. - We have new details into the Alexis Murphy abduction case in Nelson County. According to investigators, they have made contact with someone they describe as a "person of interest" in the case.

Investigators could not give anymore details but say they are following up with this person in regards to the teen's disappearance.

Back in August, Randy Taylor's attorney told WDBJ7 that Taylor was not the last person to see Murphy before she went missing. He said Murphy left Taylor's home with another man.

Investigators plan to follow up with this person of interest and will release more details when they can.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/breaking-new-details-in-case-of-missing-nelson-county-teen-alexis-murphy/-/20128466/22066886/-/qrtmd/-/index.html

Missing teen’s mom relieved after cell phone located

Posted on: 11:36 am, September 3, 2013
updated on: 07:11pm, September 3, 2013
by Scott Wise and Tracy Sears

NELSON COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) – The mother of Alexis Murphy said she was relieved investigators found her missing daughter’s cell phone. Laura Murphy told CBS 6 reporter Tracy Sears that Alexis, 17, kept the phone with her all day and night.

The phone, recovered during the investigation into Murphy’s disappearance, was positively identified as belonging to Murphy, the FBI released Tuesday.

“Since this is an on-going sensitive investigation, where evidentiary items and search information is sealed; no further discussion will be entertained,” the FBI said in a statement. “This sole release of information is only being made to advise the public that we no longer need assistance looking for that one item.”

Murphy disappeared on August 3.

“In order to protect the integrity of the investigation and ensure that Mr. Randy Allen Taylor gets a fair trial in Nelson County, Virginia, absolutely no further information will be released about this investigation,” the FBI statement continued.

Taylor, arrested last month, is charged with abduction.

Laura Murphy told Sears she felt Alexis was still alive and said she wished Taylor would tell investigators all that he knew about her daughter’s disappearence

On Saturday, search crews were looking in and around the Rockfish River off Route 29 for clues. Charlottesville-area media reported crews found an item of clothing during that search. Investigators would not confirm why they were at that location and what may have been found.

Laura Murphy says she is sustained by the community, police, and volunteer search crews who continue to look for her daughter.

This is a developing story.

http://wtvr.com/2013/09/03/alexis-murphy-phone-update/

Search continues for missing teen Alexis Murphy

6:47 AM, Sep 30, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS 19) -- The search is still going strong for missing Nelson County teenager Alexis Murphy.

On Sunday morning, around 50 people searched different parts of the county, including the home of alleged abductor Randy Taylor.

Sheriff David Brooks told Newsplex partner Blue Ridge Life Magazine that the searches turned up nothing new.

Murphy was last seen on Aug. 3 by family, and the last record of her on camera was at a gas station in Lovingston.

Taylor was indicted last week by a grand jury on the abduction charge. He's due back in court next month.

http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/276823/373/Search-continues-for-missing-teen-Alexis-Murphy

Alexis Murphy abduction trial set for Feb.

Posted on: 7:27 am, October 23, 2013
updated on: 06:57pm, October 23, 2013
by Jerrita Patterson and Sandra Jones

NELSON COUNTY, Va (WTVR) — The trial for the man police believe abducted Alexis Murphy in August, has been set for Feb. 3, 2014. Last month a Nelson County grand jury indicted Randy Taylor on two felony charges, one for the abduction of Murphy and one connected to the theft of an ATV.

Taylor was arrested less than two weeks after Murphy’s Aug. 3 disappearance. The 17-year-old girl, who is still missing, was last seen in surveillance photos at a gas station in Lovingston. Taylor was also seen at that gas station, talking to Murphy.

Taylor’s attorney said his client admits he was with Murphy the day she was last seen; however, Taylor said Murphy left with a drug dealer when they parted.

CBS 6 legal analyst Todd Stone said the charges Taylor faces may offer insight on where the case stands.

“An indictment like this, is an indication of what sort of evidence the prosecutor has,” Stone said. “This is all done in a closed room with the grand jury so we really don’t get to see the evidence yet, but we have an indication that it’s this kind of low level abduction - that she was detained temporarily against her will.”

Stone added Taylor’s abduction charge may be a way for the prosecution to hold him in order to buy more time, as the investigation continues. Taylor is being held without bond at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Jail.

“This charge is going to hold him in place until they find more evidence,” Stone said. “But it indicates they don’t have a strong case on a murder or an intent to defile associated with an abduction; because if they did they would have charged him with that.”

Taylor faces up to 10 years behind bars if convicted of abduction, Stone said.

http://wtvr.com/2013/10/23/randy-taylor-trial-date-hearing/

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/suspect-in-case-of-missing-va-teen-now-charged-with-murder/

For those unfamiliar to the case... I had to do some research.

Murder? I think so.

Alexis Murphy disappearance: Judge won't move trial in Va.
By The Associated Press
February 9, 2014 - 11:46 am

Media outlets report that 48-year-old Randy Taylor's request for a change of venue has been denied.

Nelson County Circuit Court Judge J. Michael Gamble told the defense and the prosecution on Friday that the case hasn't reached a point where a change of venue possibly would be needed.

Taylor is scheduled to stand trial May 1 on charges including first-degree murder and abduction with intent to defile. The charges stem from the disappearance of 17-year-old Alexis Murphy of Shipman.

Murphy was last seen Aug. 3, 2013, at a gas station in Lovingston. Authorities found her car several days later in an Albemarle County parking lot.


Randy Taylor, 48, is scheduled to stand trial May 1 on charges including first-degree murder and abduction with intent to defile.

Read more: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/02/alexis-murphy-disappearance-judge-won-t-move-trial-in-va--100037.html#ixzz2uOwfVXqs

Randy Taylor found guilty of first degree murder in Alexis Murphy case

Posted: May 08, 2014 3:01 PM CDT
Updated: May 08, 2014 6:13 PM CDT
By Brent Solomon

NELSON, VA (WWBT) - A jury has found Randy Taylor guilty of first degree murder and abduction with intent to defile in the Alexis Murphy case.

The jury began deliberation Thursday morning and returned the verdict around 4 p.m. Taylor was found guilty, despite Murphy's body never being found.

Murphy, 17, has been missing since August. The final pieces of evidence were presented to the jury. Though originally slated for a two-week trial, the case went to the jury after only five days.

The five men and seven women heard testimony from one of Taylor's fellow prison inmates, who said Taylor confessed to being sexually interested in the teenager. Jurors were also shown a shirt soaked with Murphy's blood and strands of her hair, both found in Taylor's camper after her disappearance.

Taylor's attorneys only took an hour on their client's defense, saying there wasn't enough evidence to prove murder or abduction since Alexis' body still hasn't been found.

http://www.nbc12.com/story/25467576/randy-taylor-found-guilty-of-first-degree-murder-in-alexis-murphy-case

Randy Taylor pleads guilty in vehicle thefts

Posted: Tuesday, July 1, 2014 11:00 pm
Justin Faulconer

LOVINGSTON — With at least 40 years in prison looming for the abduction and murder of 17-year-old Alexis Murphy, Randy Taylor on Tuesday received an additional year behind bars for stealing a pair of vehicles.

Taylor, 49, had an arraignment in Nelson County Circuit Court on a grand-larceny charge unrelated to the murder case. It centered on theft of two vehicles from a Greene County business, which were discovered while investigators searched for evidence in Murphy’s disappearance last summer.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Taylor pleaded guilty to stealing a Honda 400-R dirt bike and a 2004 Polaris Sportsman ATV, each valued at $200 or more, from Virginia Power Motor Vehicles in Ruckersville shortly before Murphy disappeared on Aug. 3. In accordance with a joint recommendation from attorneys, Judge J. Michael Gamble sentenced Taylor to one year in prison and suspended four years.

Murphy last was seen talking with Taylor at the Liberty gas station in Lovingston on Aug. 3.

Taylor was arrested eight days later and initially charged on one count of abduction but in early January was indicted on a murder charge. After a six-day trial in May, a jury found Taylor guilty of murder in commission of an abduction and abduction with intent to defile. The jury recommended two life sentences. His sentencing is set for July 23.

The case shook the Nelson County community and drew national headlines. Murphy’s body has not been found, making the case a rarity among Central Virginia murders.

Tuesday’s hearing was in stark contrast to the highly publicized trial. Less than a handful of people, including reporters, attended and no representatives of Murphy’s family were present.

Martin said evidence shows on Aug. 2, the night before Murphy’s disappearance, a Greene County officer was dispatched to investigate a missing ATV at Virginia Power Motor Sports.  A dirt bike also disappeared.

As the search for Murphy began and Taylor became a suspect, Martin said Taylor mentioned the ATV to investigators. He told the lead Nelson investigator, Billy Mays, and an FBI special agent that he would talk more about the Murphy case if they allowed him to leave an ATV with his son and the teenage boy’s mother.

“He told officers it was his son’s four-wheeler,” Martin said in court.

A search warrant was taken out on the ATV because investigators initially thought it might have some significance to the Murphy investigation, Martin said. Weeks later, while listening to Taylor’s recorded phone calls made from the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, he said Taylor told the boy’s mother to “cover up” the dirt bike so he could avoid another charge.

Mays got another search warrant and, in late October, tracked down the missing dirt bike, Martin said.

Michael Hallahan, Taylor’s attorney, described the larceny charge as “not your typical case,” and said he initially was not aware the matter could be tried in Nelson County, even though the thefts took place in Greene County. Taylor did not comment prior to sentencing on the larceny charge.

A felony charge of intent to sell or distribute stolen property was dropped as part of the attorneys’ joint recommendation.

http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/randy-taylor-pleads-guilty-in-vehicle-thefts/article_e1ecc988-0152-11e4-9d19-0017a43b2370.html

Randy Taylor to serve two life sentences for the murder of Alexis Murphy

WDBJ7 Reporter Nadine Maeser
POSTED: 05:52 PM EDT Jul 22, 2014
UPDATED: 04:36 AM EDT Jul 24, 2014

LOVINGSTON, Va. - Randy Taylor will serve two life sentences for the murder of Alexis Murphy.

A Nelson County jury convicted Taylor of first-degree murder and abduction in May. The jury recommended two life sentences. He received that sentence Wednesday afternoon, even though Murphy's body was never found.

Taylor asked for a 20-year sentence in exchange for telling authorities where Murphy's body was. Murphy's family did not want that deal. While the family wants closure and wants the chance to lay their daughter to rest, they felt it would be a bad idea to give Taylor a 20-year sentence in exchange for Murphy's body because they feel he is dangerous to society.

Taylor made a statement in court and maintained his innocence, saying multiple times that he did not kill Alexis Murphy.

Taylor was escorted into the courtroom wearing a striped jumpsuit and handcuffs.

Taylor's defense attorney, Michael Hallahan, started the sentencing out by asking the judge to throw out the guilty verdicts of first-degree murder and abduction.

Hallahan went on to say Murphy’s body was found. He also said there was no evidence of an abduction, especially because video surveillance shows Murphy following Taylor on Route 29 in Lovingston.

Commonwealth's Attorney Anthony Martin responded by saying the state does not need to produce a body. He also said there was a lot of evidence presented in this case -- including blood stains, hair, a fingernail and a shattered cell phone – that all belonged to the teen.

Judge Michael Gamble heard both sides before overruling the defense's motions. Gamble reference the Stephen Epperly case from the 1980's. The Radford murder case was the first "no-body" conviction in Virginia.

Gamble went on to agree with the Commonwealth's Attorney and said there was "sufficient evidence" to convict Taylor on a first-degree murder charge.

The state called one witness to the stand in Wednesday's sentencing hearing. It was Taylor's parole officer. She testified that Taylor repeatedly lied to her about his criminal background. Taylor reportedly denied having a juvenile background. He also lied about prior convictions and places which he lived in the country.

The Commonwealth's Attorney then read a witness impact statement from the Murphy family. It describes how hard these past few months have been for the family.

"Every single thing of my life has changed," said Martin, who read the statement on behalf of Murphy's mother, Laura.

The statement went on to say that Laura Murphy hasn't been able to sleep or work since Alexis went missing. She said holidays haven't been the same, and that all she does is "cry, pray and get up and do it again."

Taylor plans to appeal his convictions. Hallahan said he would be "happy" to handle the appeal.

Taylor stood up and spoke for less than 10 minutes about his innocence. He addressed the courtroom and the Murphy family and said he "did not kill Alexis Murphy."

Taylor feels the state had more resources than his defense attorney and that detectives lied to him to get answers.

Gamble said he was giving Taylor two consecutive life sentences because of "the nature of the crimes, the difference in age between Alexis and Randy, and his criminal background."

If Taylor is released, he will serve an extra three years of supervised probation for each of the charges.

At a news conference just minutes after the verdict, Murphy's aunt and great-aunt said that the sentence is justice for Alexis and that Taylor will never do this to another young lady.

Randy Taylor's family did not want to go on camera but their expressions were stoic as the sentencing was handed down.

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/local/will-randy-taylor-sentencing/27097146

Mom-in-il, if "Taylor made a statement in court and maintained his innocence, saying multiple times that he did not kill Alexis Murphy" then it sure would have been hard to "lead them to the body" for the twenty year plea deal, wouldn't it?  These murderers who destroy lives and families sure don't like getting the consequences do they?

ladibug wrote:Mom-in-il, if "Taylor made a statement in court and maintained his innocence, saying multiple times that he did not kill Alexis Murphy" then it sure would have been hard to "lead them to the body" for the twenty year plea deal, wouldn't it?  These murderers who destroy lives and families sure don't like getting the consequences do they?

You are sooooo right.  They are also the biggest whiners when they land  on death row.

ladibug wrote:Mom-in-il, if "Taylor made a statement in court and maintained his innocence, saying multiple times that he did not kill Alexis Murphy" then it sure would have been hard to "lead them to the body" for the twenty year plea deal, wouldn't it?  These murderers who destroy lives and families sure don't like getting the consequences do they?

You're right! These killers callously take lives, but when it's their life on the line suddenly a life means something. His life is worthless.

Commonwealth Attorney: Graham and Murphy case not related

Posted: Sep 24, 2014 11:14 AM CDT
Updated: Sep 25, 2014 4:46 AM CDT
By WSLS Staff

NELSON COUNTY (WSLS) - The recent Hannah Graham case is in no way directly related to the case of Alexis Murphy, according to Anthony Martin with the Commonwealth's Attorney for Nelson County.

Officials said in recent days, there has been much discussion as to whether or not there is any connection between the case involving Jesse L. Matthew Jr., charged in connection with missing UVa student, Hannah Graham, and Randy Taylor who was convicted in May 2014 for abduction with intent to defile and the first-degree murder of Alexis Murphy.

The discussion focused on whether or not Matthew was the person Taylor tried to implicate in his trial of being with Alexis Murphy when she left Taylor's camper in August 2013.

Court officials said Dameon Bradley was the black male Taylor positively identified as the person he was talking about in the Alexis Murphy case. Taylor also said that Bradley drove a maroon Chevy with big rims. He also described Bradley as having 'corn rows'.

Officials said at no time did the name Jesse L. Matthew Jr. or a vehicle resembling Matthews', come up in the Randy Taylor, Alexis Murphy case. Dameon Bradley, who testified in Taylor's jury trial, denied Taylor's allegations and had an alibi that was confirmed by law enforcement for the time period Alexis Murphy went missing.

Court officials said it's also important to note that Bradley is light-skinned and is of much smaller build than Matthew. Bradley also worked at the McDonald's at the Liberty Gas Station, where Taylor saw him on a regular basis.

Officials said some have questioned whether or not the surveillance video from Liberty Gas Station the night Alexis Murphy disappeared shows her walking behind the back of an object some say looks like Matthews' vehicle.

Authorities from the FBI and Virginia State Police have re-examined that footage in light of these concerns and said they're confident that the orange object is not a vehicle, but a portion of a sign hanging from the window.

Police said at this time, there is not credible evidence that suggests any third party was involved in the Randy Taylor case and no evidence at this time exists that Matthew had anything to do with the disappearance of Alexis Murphy.

Officials said if such evidence is discovered, Nelson County authorities along with the FBI and the Virginia State Police will act immediately.

http://www.wsls.com/story/26616609/commonwealth-attorney-graham-and-murphy-case-not-related

Attorney Requests Reopening Alexis Murphy Case

Posted: Oct 02, 2014 9:07 AM CDT
Updated: Oct 02, 2014 11:25 PM CDT

Randy Taylor's attorney Michael Hallahan is now requesting that the commonwealth revisit the Alexis Murphy case.

The request comes after police confirmed earlier this week that Jesse Matthew is linked by forensic evidence to the Morgan Harrington case. Harrington disappeared after seeing a concert at John Paul Jones Arena in 2009. Her remains were found on an Albemarle farm three months later.

Matthew faces an abduction with intent to defile charge in connection with the disappearance of University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. Police say Graham and Matthew were last seen together on Charlottesville's downtown mall on September 13.

In a letter, Hallahan requests that Nelson County Commonwealth's Attorney Anthony Martin conduct additional DNA testing in the Alexis Murphy case and also requests the reexamination of Murphy's social media activity and Matthew's social media activity to determine if they has any contact.

Relatives of Murphy, who was murdered last year, say they are offended by a letter sent to reopen her convicted killer's case. Taylor was convicted of abduction with intent to defile and first-degree murder after Murphy's disappearance, and sentenced to two life terms. But Hallahan says there is a reasonable suspicion that Jesse Matthew may have had a role to play in Murphy's case as well.

Murphy's family says they take issue with several things Hallahan said in his letter to Martin, including the implication that Murphy may still be alive. In Hallahan's letter, he brings up Taylor's attempt at a deal before his sentencing, in which he maintained his innocence but asked for a reduced sentence if he were to "advise on [Murphy's] location." He says his client "made no reference to her being deceased and made no reference to a body.” The family feels this is adding salt to their wound, when they already had accepted Murphy's death.

"It's difficult enough to think about her being gone without having a resting place for her and I just think that was really unprofessional on his part,” said Trina Murphy, Alexis Murphy's aunt.

But the family does feel Hallahan's ultimate request is reasonable.

Hallahan, who says Taylor's appeal process is underway, was asking the commonwealth's attorney to compare DNA evidence gathered from the investigation of Matthew with unidentified evidence in the Murphy case.

"There were multiple DNA samples found in Alexis Murphy's car,” Hallahan said. “Most of them came back unknown."

Hallahan quoted testimony in Murphy's trial saying she liked "older men" and implied that could mean Matthew.

Trina Murphy said, "I think when a teenager of 17 thinks about an older man they're thinking like 21. I don't see any probable cause to think that my niece would be in any way attracted to LJ or associated with him."

At this point, Martin has agreed to search Murphy's social media accounts and to compare DNA samples, but Murphy's family says they hope this is put to rest quickly because there is still a girl missing.

"Right now, the focus really needs to move back to ‘where is Hannah,'” Trina Murphy said.

In his testimony, Taylor said there was a black man with cornrows with him and Murphy on the night of her disappearance. Hallahan says the evidence has to be looked at again to make sure that man wasn't Matthew.

In Martin's response, he says within days of Taylor's arrest, he and Hallahan were “100 percent certain that the black male that Alexis Murphy left with was Dameon Bradley.” Taylor said Bradley was with him and Murphy the last night she was seen, but Bradley testified in court during Taylor's trial that he had never met Murphy.

Read the full letter from Hallahan here. Read Martin's letter here.

http://www.nbc29.com/story/26687150/attorney-requests-reopening-alexis-murphy-case