LENOIR, NC (October 20, 2016)…The second double homicide trial of William Eugene Murphy came to an end after 11 weeks when the jury returned a verdict of not guilty on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016, in Caldwell County Superior Court.
Murphy, 57, was found innocent of committing the November 1990 murders of Mark Randall Secreast and his wife Jeanie Barlow Secreast inside their Caldwell County home. The case was investigated at that time but not solved. Murphy was arrested and charged with their murders in April 2010.
The trial, which started Aug 8 and included four weeks of jury selection prior to opening statements from Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Mathews and Defense Attorney Lisa Dubs, was the second in 10 months after the first ended in a mistrial.
The 12-member jury deliberated over a period of three days following closing arguments from Prosecutor Michael Van Buren and Dubs on Monday and Tuesday before delivering its verdict to the Honorable Hugh B. Lewis, Superior Court Judge from Mecklenburg County, around 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
Murphy’s first trial ended on Feb. 10 when the jurors were deadlocked 6-6 after five hours of deliberation, prompting the Honorable Nathaniel J. Poovey, Superior Court Judge from Catawba County, to declare a mistrial.