American homicide and colorful thief known as “Murph the Surf.” A TV movie of his life was shown in January 1978.
Murphy’s record began in January 1964 when he was apprehended after pistol whipping and stealing jewelry from actress Eva Gabor in Florida; he was not convicted. On 29 October 1964 he performed the exceptional feat of stealing the well-guarded Star of India gem from the New York museum. He was picked up two days later. On 8 December 1967, near Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the bodies of two murdered women were found, both local secretaries. Murphy and an accomplice were convicted in 1969 of killing them to keep them from revealing information, the theft of $500,000 in negotiable securities. While armed, Murphy robbed a Miami Beach socialite and was convicted of the theft in 1970 and sentenced to prison.
During the mid-’70s, while in Starke, a Florida prison, Murphy became a “saved Christian.” He was noted as having a near-genius IQ. He next was in the news on 3 January 1983 when a local newspaper account reported that he had taken up fine art; painting. On 30 December 1984 he was moved to a half-way house and work program in Orlando, Florida. Paroled from two life sentences, he began work in Orlando as a lay minister and counselor on 10 November 1986.
Murphy died on 12 September 2020 at age 83 in Crystal River, Florida from heart and organ failure.
Link to Wikipedia biography