CASSIA COUNTY, Idaho — After 5 years behind bars, a jury recently ruled that Jim Lee Murphy did not murder his wife, reports the Idaho Public Defender's Office.
The State Public Defender's office represented Murphy, who insisted he played no role in his wife's murder, which happened in October 2014.
His wife, Whitney Murphy, was killed by a shotgun, and a neighbor in the area was also shot through their basement window.
Jim Murphy told investigators at the time that he was not at home when the shooting happened and maintained that he did not kill his wife.
However, Deputies with the Cassia County Sheriff's Office, after years of investigation, arrested Jim Murphy in March of 2021, charging him with first-degree murder.
Ultimately, Murphy was assigned Cassia County-based public defense attorneys. Murphy said that those public defenders repeatedly pushed him to accept a plea deal, which he refused.
At one point, Murphy became so frustrated with the legal representation that he decided to represent himself, even though he had zero legal education or training.
However, on Oct. 1, 2024, the Idaho Public Defender's Office was established, taking over all public defense cases across the state. When asked if he would like the assistance of the state public defender, Murphy answered in the affirmative.
Ultimately, The State Public Defender's Litigation Director, Doug Nelson, took the case.
Over the course of a year, the defense established that there was no evidence linking Jim Murphy to the murder of his wife. In the process of establishing Jim Murphy's case, the State Public Defender also "identified a more likely suspect in the case."
The Justice overseeing the case, District Judge Barry Wood, deemed the "alternate perpetrator" defense valid, saying in his order, "the alternate perpetrator evidence proffered by the defense is not mere inference or innuendo suggesting that someone else could have committed the crime in question. It is specific evidence that … (a different person) … is responsible for the murder of Whitney."
At one point, the prosecutor conceded that if a new forensic test didn't show blood on Jim Murphy's socks, he would dismiss the case.
When the tests revealed no blood on Murphy's socks, the prosecutor did not relent but instead insisted on the trial moving forward after speaking with "law enforcement partners."
The jury trial ultimately began this year on Feb. 3 and testimony concluded on Feb. 17. After a day of deliberation, the jury acquitted Jim Lee Murphy of first-degree murder.
