A Louisiana fugitive convicted for the 2016 murder of Englewood man Patrick Murphy received a sentence of life in prison without parole — his second such sentence — on April 23. An Arapahoe …
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A Louisiana fugitive convicted for the 2016 murder of Englewood man Patrick Murphy received a sentence of life in prison without parole — his second such sentence — on April 23.
An Arapahoe County District Court jury convicted Purpera of first-degree murder at the end of a trial March 22. Purpera was also found guilty of first-degree felony murder, aggravated robbery and several other charges.
Purpera, 31, shot Murphy, 33, on Nov. 12, 2016, according to evidence presented by the prosecution. Purpera was found with Murphy's phone, his medical card and shell casings consistent with the type of bullet found at the scene of another death.
Purpera also was found guilty of the second-degree murder of Wayland Busby, 54, at a transient campsite along the west bank of the South Platte River just outside Englewood, in a Denver case. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole in that case in November.
The Arapahoe County jury also found Purpera guilty of possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, obstructing an officer, theft, possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawful use of a controlled substance. One of the two first-degree murder charges was for murder with extreme indifference to the value of human life in general.
Authorities found Murphy's body in a pond near South Broadway and U.S. Highway 285 in Englewood. Police initially searched the area in November 2016 but did not find a body due to snow and cold weather. Murphy's body wasn't found until Feb. 11, 2017, when a pedestrian spotted it after the pond was drained for maintenance.
Louisiana officials had previously issued a warrant for Purpera's arrest for two counts of attempted murder in connection with an Aug. 22, 2016, shooting in that state.
Police arrested Purpera after a report the night of Nov. 12, 2016, about shoplifting at the Walmart at 601 Englewood Parkway.
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