John Murphy: Murder of 16 Mo. Old Daughter, FL
Orange County Father Charged With Toddler's Death :evil: :evil: POSTED: 11:12 pm EST November 11, 2006 UPDATED: 10:27 am EST November 12, 2006 ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A 16-month-old baby girl is dead, and police say she died at the hands of her own father. Officers said the brutal crime began when 21-year-old John Murphy got angry with his daughter Serenity because she was crying. Serenty reportedly threw up on herself, and police say when Murphy went to wash off the child, that's when the violence began. Murphy allegedly shook Serenity vigorously, before throwing her against a tile wall in a shower. Murphy told detectives he left the child on the shower floor with the water running while he smoked a cigarette. Murphy said he tried CPR on the child and, when it didn't work, took her to his neighbors. Serenity's life was starting to fade fast when she reached the arms of Isaac Chapelle and Nina Keme. Chapelle said he heard yelling and other noise in his neighbor's apartment, but never heard Serenity cry. Nina, who is a trained medical assistant, tried to save the little girl by doing CPR. Serenity was taken to the hospital, where she later died. Serenity's mother wasn't home at the time and was too distraught to talk with Channel 9 Saturday night. Murphy is being held without bond at the Orange County Jail on charges of second degree murder and aggravated child abuse. He was scheduled to appear before a judge Sunday. http://www.wftv.com/news/10299709/detail.html

Police: Baby Killed After Grabbing Dad's Hair Was Sexually Abused POSTED: 11:39 pm EST November 11, 2006 UPDATED: 1:26 am EST November 12, 2006 A 17-month-old girl in Orange County, Fla., was killed Saturday when her father allegedly threw her into a shower wall after she grabbed his hair during a bath, according to police. Investigators said John Allen Murphy was bathing his daughter at a home located on 19th Street in Orange County when the child grabbed his hair. Murphy became angry and threw his daughter against a shower wall, a police report said. A news release said Murphy then left the child in the shower and went to smoke a cigarette. When he returned, the child was unresponsive. The baby was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center were she was pronounced dead. "It appears that the child received the injuries as a result of her father hitting her against the wall," Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Carlos Padilla said. An autopsy revealed blunt force trauma to the liver killed the young girl. Late Saturday, the girl's mother, Carrie, was told by detectives that there was evidence that the child was sexually abused, Local 6 News reported. The girl's mother was working at the time of the incident, Local 6 reported. Murphy was transported to the Orange County Jail and faces murder charges. http://www.local6.com/news/10299825/detail.html

Neighbors Pull Together To Help Mourning Mother POSTED: 10:40 pm EST November 12, 2006 UPDATED: 10:48 pm EST November 12, 2006 ORLANDO -- Neighbors rallied around the family of a 17-month-old whose father, police said, admitted to slamming her against the wall. An autopsy confirmed Serenity Watson died of blunt force trauma. Some neighbors held a barbecue fundraiser to help pay for the baby's funeral and to help the grieving mother. Isaac Chappell passed around a jar at Lorna Doone park as the barbecue went on. Chappel said John Allen Murphy and his family had moved into a duplex off Orange Blossom Trail just three days before Serenity's death. Investigators said Murphy confessed to showering with the baby, and slamming her into a wall after she pulled his hair. Chappell and his fiance Nina Kemp have kids of their own and did what they could to save Serenity. He called 911 while she administered CPR. And they haven't stopped trying to help -- they pulled together the regulars in the park to help Serenity's family, which helped to keep Chappell's anger at Murphy in check. "I just want to keep it right with what I was taught. I'm not going to judge him. Whatever is coming to him is going to come to him. It stirs up a lot of anger," said Chappell. John Allen Murphy remains in the Orange county jail on charges of second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. http://www.wesh.com/news/10303643/detail.html

Father Denied Bond There are new developments in the murder of a young girl in Orange County as a judge orders her father to be locked up without bond. Twenty-one-year-old John Murphy is accused of murdering 17 month old Serenity Watson on Saturday. Investigators say the murder happened after Murphy went into a violent rage, slamming her into a wall while he was trying to give the girl a bath. Murphy made his first appearance in court on Sunday. Investigators say after his daughter was injured, he went outside to smoke. It was neighbors that ended up calling for help. The girl’s mother was not home at the time. On Sunday, she cancelled a planned news conference. http://www.cfn13.com/StoryHeadline.aspx?id=20263