Layton Airbnb guest threatens family in adjoining unit, wields gun
LAYTON, Utah (ABC4) — An Airbnb guest is facing charges after threatening to kill a father in an adjoining unit, who was staying there with his seven-year-old daughter.
Thomas Murphy, 28, was arrested on Dec. 30 for the offenses of property damage/destruction, a third-degree felony; carry a dangerous weapon under the influence of alcohol/drugs, a class B misdemeanor; threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor; and intoxication, a class B misdemeanor, the Layton Police Department said.
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Murphy was reportedly renting an Airbnb in Layton and had been drinking all day. At some point, police said, he became aware that there was another family renting an adjoining unit in the basement of the home, which made him extremely angry. He called dispatch to report them, saying he was going to kick the door in.
Police said Murphy was seen on the home’s surveillance walking down around the back of the house with a gun in his hand. He knocked on the door and made contact with a seven year old girl who was staying there with her father, police said. He then reportedly went back to his unit, but started pounding on the shared locked door between the two units.
The girl’s father asked Murphy what he wanted and Murphy began screaming that he was going to kill him, according to police.
The father called 911 and the owner of the Airbnb to report what was happening. Police said the father told them he heard wood breaking and glass shattering in the unit Murphy was renting.
Murphy reportedly broke the entire banister that held a wooden handrail leading to the shared door. He also went into the kitchen and smashed out two pane glass windows, police said.
When police arrived, Murphy reportedly told them he had taken his firearm and approached the downstairs sliding glass door with it when he saw the child. He also said he destroyed the handrail and the glass window out of anger and frustration that people were in the shared unit. Murphy told officers that he was “wasted” and “drunk,” police said.
The damage to the railing and the two plate glass windows was estimated to be more than $1,500.
Murphy has been booked into the Davis County Jail on the aforementioned charges.
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