Vancouver’s Michael Murrah, 45, pleaded not guilty Friday in Clark County Superior Court to first-degree domestic violence murder in the fatal stabbing of his estranged wife.
His trial is scheduled for Jan. 18. Court records show prosecutors are seeking a sentence above the standard sentencing range because of the alleged domestic violence and the couple’s minor child being present. He is being held on $2 million bail.
Vancouver police responded around 10:30 a.m. Nov. 7 to the 2400 block of F Street in Vancouver’s Arnada neighborhood after a neighbor called 911 to report Monica “Star” Murrah, 45, had been stabbed. Police found Michael Murrah outside of the house with what appeared to be blood on his hands and a knife, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Officers said he obeyed commands to drop the knife. Police did not see any injuries to Michael Murrah, court records state.
Star Murrah was found inside with multiple stab wounds to her upper torso. She was taken to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center where she died from her injuries.
The neighbor told police the couple’s son knocked on his door shouting, “Mommy needs help!” The neighbor came to the house and found Michael Murrah standing inside with a “bloody weapon in bloody hands,” according to court records.
The neighbor yelled for him to “get out,” and Michael Murrah ran out the back door. The neighbor said he locked the doors and then found Star Murrah lying down, clutching a towel to her chest. He said she told him that Michael Murrah had cornered her in the bathroom and stabbed her. He said he stayed with her until police arrived, according to a search warrant affidavit.
Michael Murrah allegedly told police he stabbed someone called Star Beast “to fulfill a prophecy.” In another police interview, officers said he admitted to driving to Star Murrah’s house with a knife and a Bible, court records state.
A cellphone belonging to Michael Murrah was found Nov. 8 in the mailbox of a court commissioner who presided over the couple’s domestic violence protection order case and was initially assigned to their divorce case, according to court records. Last year, the commissioner denied Star Murrah’s petition for a full protection order against her husband.
The judicial assistant who collected the mail and opened the package containing the cellphone wrote that the last messages exchanged between Michael and Star Murrah were about vaccinating their son, court records state.
