Wife charged with killing husband in Miller County

Amy Murray
Amy Murray

An Iberia woman has been charged with the murder of her husband in December.

Amy Murray, 40, has been charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action for the death of her husband, Joshua Murray, who died in a fire at the couple's home, Miller County authorities announced Friday.

Joshua's body was found after the fire Dec. 11. The Missouri State Fire Marshall's Office and the Miller County Sheriff's Department determined the fire was a result of arson. It originated in the master bedroom, and an accelerant was used to start the fire.

An autopsy concluded Joshua had been dead prior to the fire and that he had died of poisoning, with indications that he had been poisoned with antifreeze.

Cellphone records indicate Miller was at the residence a half-hour before the fire was reported to 911, according to a Miller County Sheriff's Department probable cause statement.

She later told investigators she had left the residence with her 11-year-old son and two dogs and drove to McDonald's in Osage Beach.

Murray had been employed as a nurse at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, where she had developed a romantic relationship with an inmate, according to Sheriff's Department reports.

Listening to recordings of phone conversations at the prison, investigators identified the inmate as Eugene Claypool, according to the probable cause statement. Murray told Claypool she didn't want to be around her husband and wanted to divorce him. She later told Claypool they could get married because her husband was dead. The two also talked about getting Claypool an attorney so he could be released from prison early.

Records from the Missouri Department of Corrections show Claypool is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder.