Johnson City brother, sister convicted in mother’s 2019 death
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) — A Johnson City brother and sister were convicted of murder in the 2019 death of their mother.
A jury on Friday found Michael and Karen Murray guilty of first-degree murder.
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A Washington County grand jury had indicted the siblings following an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into the death of their disabled mother, Sheila June Murray, who was hospitalized before she died.
According to the TBI, the investigation determined that Michael and Karen Murray were responsible for the abuse and neglect that resulted in their mother’s death.
“I’m very disappointed in the verdict,” Chris Byrd, attorney for Karen Murray, told News Channel 11. “I thought it was apparent this was a poor family who was in over its head trying to care for an elderly parent with problems they weren’t capable of handling. I don’t believe these were knowing acts of neglect but the jury thought otherwise and their verdict is what we’re supposed to respect.”
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On Tuesday, a medical first responder testified to the condition Sheila June Murray was found in when EMS responded to her home in 2019. EMS reportedly found her with a compound ankle fracture lying in a bed that was wet with urine and with fecal matter on her.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 30.
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