Computer opens window into mind of reeling killer
Arvada police detail last hours of frantic Murray
By Lisa Ryckman, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Originally published 12:06 p.m., March 27, 2008
Updated 12:05 a.m., March 28, 2008
Photos From City Of Arvada Police
Police found Matthew Murray's room this way after the 24-year-old gunman shot and killed four people Dec. 9, 2007.
A police investigation photo of Matthew Murray's home in Centennial shows a list of his relatives covered with a series of pentagrams. Also shown is "Hail Satan!"
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Depressed and isolated, Matthew Murray took refuge in the safety of his computer.
Later, it became a window into a troubled mind: more than 500,000 pornographic images, downloads about the shootings at Columbine and Virginia Tech, books and artwork with satanic and Nazi imagery.
Hundreds of pages of investigative reports released Thursday by Arvada police paint a portrait of a young man reeling from rejection and tormented by his inner demons. Like Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, and Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Chos before him, Murray pushed away help and alienated those around him until his frustration erupted in violence.
Early Dec. 9 in Arvada, the slight young man with glasses murdered Youth With a Mission members Tiffany Johnson and Philip Crouse, then went home and spent hours on his computer. Later that morning, he happily chatted with his mother before she left for church, investigators said.
Then Murray logged onto his computer for the last time.
"Christian America . . . this is YOUR Columbine," he warned in a posting at 9:33 a.m. A few hours later, Murray killed teenage sisters Rachel and Stephanie Works at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. Then he turned his gun on himself.
After 24 short years, the world had become too much for Matthew John Murray.
A little scared of Matthew
Diagnosed with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder at 5, Murray also suffered from a learning disability that led his parents, Ronald and Loretta Murray, to believe that homeschooling would be best. His behavior could be erratic, his younger brother, Christopher, told police.
"There were times growing up I was a little scared of Matthew," he said. The deeply religious family would often pray for Matthew to overcome his condition.
As a teenager, Murray's problems intensified. Sarah Morris met him when he joined King's Kids, a Christian group for 8- to 18-year-olds. At 15, he already was on heavy medication that made him comatose, she said. Matthew told her he didn't feel human when on the drugs; he felt God would heal him of his mental illness.
From King's Kids, Murray went into YWAM's discipleship training program. But just days before the group left on a missionary outreach trip to Bosnia, Murray was told he couldn't go.
He had alarmed others with talk of hearing voices, spreading rumors about homosexual acts in the men's shower room and singing songs by Marilyn Manson and Linkin Park during a Christmas celebration, the police documents say.
Chris and Norma Black, leaders of the YWAM outreach trips, told police that Murray's apparent inner turmoil and demeanor made him unsuitable for the dangers of Bosnia. His mother pleaded with them to give him a chance. "This trip was his only hope right now," she told them.
Murray later cried about being excluded from the trip, his parents said, and his bitterness about it festered. Safe in cyberspace, he lashed out in a chat room.
"YWAM, and Christianity, it's all about the Beautiful People," Murray wrote May 8, using the name nghtmrchld26.
After that, Murray seemed to be searching for a religious identity, becoming a member of several different churches, and investigating the occult, witchcraft and satanism. His computer was his constant refuge, and his expertise landed him a job as a technician at Central Telecom Inc. But he didn't fit in there, and was picked on mercilessly, a co-worker told police.
"He hated the world and acted like he had a chip on his shoulder," Dave Baetz said. "No one cared. It wasn't our job to fix it."
'I'm as low as I can go'
Although he had often rejected offers of help, in the moments before his last acts of violence, Murray reached out. He called his cousin Gabe LaPoint and talked about killing himself. He felt like an outcast, he said. He had no reason to go on.
Later, Murray sent his cousin text messages that included lines from a poem he had written: "time will kill the pain," and "I'm as low as I can go."
Jacinda Treadway was the last person to talk to Matthew Murray. The Nashville, Tenn., resident told police she met Murray at YWAM discipleship training school in fall 2002 and considered him the most socially awkward person she had ever encountered. Her heart went out to him because he had no friends, she said.
For a couple of months Treadway had stopped taking Murray's calls because his rants about religious conspiracies had become increasingly ridiculous. She told friends that Murray was the kind of guy who would commit mass murder.
During their half-hour conversation just before the New Life shooting, Treadway questioned Murray about the YWAM killings in Arvada. He kept saying what a crazy world it was.
He didn't know what would cause someone to do such things.
He seemed fine . . .
In his room, Murray kept books on witchcraft, satan and murder, and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition. In his writings, he expressed rage toward Christianity, his former church, YWAM and his mother, who police said knew nothing of his hostility.
Loretta Murray considered their relationship a loving one.
Murray's cousin Gabe reached Loretta at church on that deadly Sunday morning and told her that her son was suicidal. But she had already seen him up and ready to go out. He seemed fine.
Afterward, she told a family friend that she was happy that he might be going to church. She and Matthew would talk later.
Ryckmanl@RockyMountainNews.com
Shooting timeline
The Arvada Police Department released this timeline of events in the Dec. 9, 2007, shootings at Youth With A Mission in Arvada and New Life Church in Colorado Springs:
* 11:20 p.m. to 11:58 p.m. Dec. 8: Matthew Murray talks on his cell phone with cousin Gabe LaPoint.
* About midnight: Murray knocks at the front door of Youth With a Mission in Arvada. Resident Stephanie Hollman lets him in.
* About 12:10 a.m. Dec. 9: Kenny Snell, a YWAM resident, leads Murray to the men's room in the hallway.
* 12:11 to 12:27 a.m.: Murray on cell phone with acquaintance Deborah Wittrein.
* 12:28 a.m.: Tiffany Johnson and Dan Griebenow confront Murray in the hallway. Philip Crouse and Charlie Blanch also are present.
* 12:29 a.m.: Charlie Blanch reports the shooting in a 911 call.
* About 12:30 a.m.: Murray flees on foot.
* 12:31 a.m.: Arvada police arrive at the scene.
* 1:25 to 1:27 a.m.: Murray calls his father, Ron, who is in Arizona, to talk about a physical altercation with a waitress at an Applebee's restaurant.
* 9 a.m.: Murray is at home in Englewood. His mother, Loretta, leaves home to go to church.
* 9:14 a.m.: Arvada police receive a tip from Ron Morris, an acquaintance of Murray's.
* 10:03 a.m.: Murray posts "You Christians brought this on yourselves" message from his computer.
* 10:19 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.: Murray leaves home to drive to Colorado Springs while talking on cell phone.
* 10:50 to 10:52 a.m.: Murray leaves a message with Jennifer Cali, an acquaintance, to say, "Goodbye" and to say he is "going to go out and do some crazy s---."
* 11:07 to 11:51 a.m.: Police request a driver's license photo for Matthew Murray. When they receive it, it is posted in a photo lineup.
* 11:48 a.m.: The FBI leaves a message on an Arvada police tip line about Murray's posting, but did not identify the Web site, nor did they provide any information on the suspect.
* 12:13 to 12:16 p.m.: Murray talks with his father on his cell phone and agrees to pick him up at DIA when he returns from Arizona.
* 12:16 to 12:45 p.m.: Murray has a 29-minute phone conversation with acquaintance Jacinda Treadway. Murray breaks the call off, saying he is going to church.
* 12:35 p.m.: Witness shown photo lineup but does not identify Murray.
* 1:10 p.m.: Shootings at New Life Church in Colorado Springs.
Comments
Posted by RickyLee on March 27, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ban porn, that's what killed those people. There ought to be a law.
Posted by Spencer on March 27, 2008 at 12:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
maybe he was "porn again"
Posted by Acemon on March 27, 2008 at 12:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Was it the images of naked bodies that drove that unstable nut to kill innocents, was it the Xanax and alcohol mixture, or could it possibly have been his easy access to details of how other people killed innocents? I'll bet his closet contained Levi jeans and black T-shirts, too. We need to look further into that aspect.
Posted by RDA on March 27, 2008 at 12:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey zogzapped .. doesn't sound like he was into sex with prostitutes .. maybe same sex prostitutes and kids .. but I don't think legalized prostitution would have saved lives.
Posted by bcabrera6 on March 27, 2008 at 12:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
LOL Spencer
Posted by freethought on March 27, 2008 at 12:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
He did not kill them with porn, it was a gun in the hands of a religious fanatic. Did he also have pictures of priests with little boys? Church leaders with male prostitutes? So easy to blame drugs, alcohol, psychosis or whatever, when it all boils down to the fact that he was a deranged person who was home schooled by deranged parents. Let’s blame Dobson, the Mormon Church and everyone else who led him to this behavior. Fanaticism breeds fanaticism. Do not blame porn as your scapegoat.
Posted by freethought on March 27, 2008 at 12:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
RickyLee, there is a law...it's in the Constitution and called freedom of speech.
Posted by rightwingnut on March 27, 2008 at 12:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
freethought,
Are you going to be the next to shoot up a church? Sounds like a lot of anger there skippy.
Posted by freethought on March 27, 2008 at 12:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am a peaceful atheist, one of the many. In fact, we are much less dangerous than your average church-going granny. (lookitup) How clean is YOUR computer, you rightwingnut?
Posted by rightwingnut on March 27, 2008 at 12:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
freethought,
Squeeky clean thanks for asking. Again I will state, A lot of anger there Skippy. Just curious, does peaceful mean instead of hitting someone you sit at your computer and hit using your keyboard?
Posted by freethought on March 27, 2008 at 12:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It's much less bloody. Do you support the war? Death penalty? I don't need violence to stress a point, you?
Posted by HolierThanThou on March 27, 2008 at 1:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't understand parents who have "no inkling" their kids are capable of violence. Do they even live with their kids when they say that?
My mother knew my brothers and I were capable of violence. That's why she'd beat the living daylights out of us when we brawled with each other. She got plenty of exercise doing that, which is why she always remained a rather strong athletic woman. Other than that, she was the quintessential nice Mom cooking tasty dinners, keeping a tidy home, and baking treats for us and our friends.
The following generations carry on the old family traditions as best we can. We're not perfect either. But at least we're not clueless idiots like those religious nuts.
Posted by Big_D on March 27, 2008 at 1:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Xanax and depression from being rejected seem like more of a motivator than porn. I think he was mentally unstable and they should take a look at Xanax and a list of other drugs that seem to be frequently showing up in psychotic breaks. Some of these drugs seem to be pushing people over the thin edge of sanity they are on already. America needs to lose its drug for happiness mentality.
Posted by POHA on March 27, 2008 at 1:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Eek.
What does porn have to do with it?
Posted by Scott on March 27, 2008 at 1:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"What does porn have to do with it?"
A headline. Nothing more, nothing less.
Scott
Posted by MarineGrunt on March 27, 2008 at 2:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"maybe he was porn again!"
WINNER WINNER... We have a winner here!
I bow to you, sir! (This time!)
Posted by RickyLee on March 27, 2008 at 2:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I 2nd....that's the winner!
Posted by rickg19611 on March 27, 2008 at 2:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"I am a peaceful atheist". Sounds like a jumbo shrimp.
Posted by Acemon on March 27, 2008 at 2:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
rickg19611,
Please direct us to any news stories within the last ten years regarding an atheist killing people. It seems to me that it's almost always a "God-fearing" person of religion who kills.
Posted by Jasin on March 27, 2008 at 2:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"He did not kill them with porn, it was a gun in the hands of a religious fanatic"
Wasn't he an anti-religion fanatic?
Posted by Marshdale on March 27, 2008 at 2:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Get a life Ricky Lee. Not all porn is evil and bad. The real culprit is fundamentalist churches. Almost every depraved person I know grew up in such restricted environments, which creat an unbelievable apetite for what is preached against. If churches would educate teens about sex and allow pubescent kids to explore a little without chastizing them and scaring the living crap out of them by condeming them to hell their curiosity would be satisfied and they would think of it as no big deal and lose interest. You are probably one of those people who review controversial movies for teen consumption and rewind it a hundred times just to get another glimpse because you can't control your own impulses.
Posted by freethought on March 27, 2008 at 2:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
rickg: How 'bout "a loving god"? "celibate priest"? "good Christian"? "honest, upright, church goer"?
Jasin: anti-religion fanatics do not duct tape "God is with us" on their walls.
Posted by freethought on March 27, 2008 at 4:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Just a thought...What constitutes an "obsession"? Porn was the least of his worries.
Posted by HolierThanThou on March 27, 2008 at 5:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That boy's room was a mess! Did they take that photo before or after the cops tossed the place?
If my brothers or I had left such a mess in our house, my normally kindly mother would have rode us like the family mule with spurs and a riding crop. The relentless verbal whipping alone was enough for us to hop to it and clean those quarters quick.
Brats had best not leave a mess in mine or my sibling's houses either. So, the habit of cleanliness is passed down to posterity.
Those frigging religious nuts expect God to do everything for them but he won't clean your room.
Posted by rickg19611 on March 27, 2008 at 5:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Please direct us to any news stories within the last ten years regarding an atheist killing people. "
Last ten years? Must be embarrassed by the quantity from more than 10 years ago. Ever heard of those great atheists Mao and Stalin? Obviously not. Or maybe that 100 million body count and bloodstained atheist hands is something you're trying to cover up since it refutes your warped thinking.
Of course, for the number of murders committed by atheists and other hatemongers in the past 10 years, you can refer to almost all of them. One of the most dramatic examples of atheistic murder is the murders committed by American Atheists organization employee David Waters when he murdered Madalyn Murray-O'Hair.
Guess she should have hired people WITH religious beliefs.... instead of hiring an atheist that believes that murder is acceptable.
Posted by rickg19611 on March 27, 2008 at 5:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The difference between Matthew Murray who targeted Christians and the anti-religion bigots like him roaming the RMN boards? Same thinking. Same hate.
The difference between Klebold and Harris who asked their victims if they believed in God as they murdered them, and the anti-religion bigots like him roaming the RMN boards? Same thinking. Same hate.
Posted by jjez on March 27, 2008 at 6:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
9News reports that his father changed his return flight so he could be with his son after the "alleged altercation" at a restaurant. Which was the excuse he gave his mother after he shot four people, killing two of them. So Daddy rushes home to molly-coddle his little boy. Obviously, whatever form of discipline his parents tried didn't work. Probably because they sent mixed messages. Overly stern on some things, too lenient on others. Forced religion on him, but never made him responsible for his own actions. That old "devil made me do it" defense! Extremism in ANY form is dangerous, religious or otherwise.
Hey Freethought, what makes you think that the average church-goer is homicidal? From the few headlines like this one? Get real. It's my opinion that more hate is caused by non-believers trying to push their non-belief on everyone else than is caused by believers trying to push their beliefs (aside from Islam--and the Crusades). I've seen non-believers get violent when any mention of Christianity is brought up, but have rarely seen a true Christian get angry when someone won't believe as they do. So I think you need to get over your extreme hate and learn to live a peaceful life. Hate just breeds more hate. The opposite of hate isn't love, it's tolerance. Just like the opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference.
Posted by Jasin on March 27, 2008 at 7:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
freethought: religious fanatics don't complain about religion on ex-pentecostals.org. Who knew why that was taped to his wall, he was definately an anti-religious sicko.
Posted by HolierThanThou on March 28, 2008 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Religion is just like sex. There is nothing inherently wrong with either. They're both fun, possibly thrilling, and good for your attitude. Some folks like theirs straight up, others with a twist, some like it dry, others wet, sometimes imaginary will do, or even do it yourself, and a few like whips and chains.
But they're both very bad when they're forced on folks.
Posted by Scott on March 28, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)
HTT,
I just copied your comment regarding sex and religion and fired off to a bunch of my friends. It's a good one and a keeper!
Scott
Posted by DahmersCookbook on March 28, 2008 at 9:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The advertisment to the right of the article made me scribble pentagrams with crayon on my screen.
Posted by Acemon on March 28, 2008 at 11:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
rickg19611,
Stalin? A Christian. Mao? A Buddist. Both were raised in religious families and used that background as they rose to power, then brutally slaughtered millions of their fellow people. Of course, George Bush's deeply-held beliefs have not stopped him from killing thousands of people, right?
David Waters indeed was a deranged killer and an employee of American Atheists, but nowhere did I find anything where he himself claimed he was an atheist. He was, however, brought up in a religious household, which could well have contributed to his damaged mind and murderous intentions.
My challenge still stands: show me any atheist in the last decade (or two or three) who was convicted of killing. Bring it on, but save your bigotry against atheists for your pals.
Posted by ezekiel777 on March 28, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
this guy makes Jeffrey Daumer look like he had an eating disorder.
same devil...different people...same outcome: death.
Posted by happymike44 on March 28, 2008 at 2:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Really he was mentaly disturbed and sometimes these people need help.I have a family member who is challenged by life emotionally everyday. I love her any less no.She is doing the best she can,takes her meds and we all help her as much as we can.She is a kind loving person who has a treatable illness.When people stop treating the mentaly ill like they have the plague.Maybe those who need help but are afraid to seek it for fear of being labeled crazy will seek out treatment.This poor man had a history of being mentally ill.He turned to the church,and maybe he felt let down by his god who knows and we will never know.Also porn is not a reason to kill how many read it and watch it and don't harm themselves or anyone else.Just my point of view what's yours.To all the people out there a lttle love and understanding is all people need sometimes,and maybe just the support of family for the mentally ill is the biggest thing they need.my sister and I both are disabled me going deaf and her with her emotional problems.We spend a lot of time together and we both have a pet to help us through the day.We are there for the good and the bad with each other why because that is what families do for each other.This poor man had none of that going for him.Also a lot of people rely on pets to help them through their good days and their bad days.
Posted by analytixman on March 28, 2008 at 3:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Religion, porn and guns had no more to do with this tragedy any more than the candle, flower and knife on a table do with a steak dinner. These are table dressing issues, part of the scene, part of the ambiance.
The real issue is he killed these people because he had mental disorders and mental illness that went untreated. Read the ingredients on most all mass shootings perpetrators, they all had mental disorders.
I too deal with a brain disorder than can effect rational behavior. I go to church and I have guns ( sorry, the porn is boring not respectful to women) and the real difference between myself and these gun men is my condition is treated. Mental illness is the root cause.
Blame who you want in your holy wars of religious vs atheist, gun supporters vs anti-gun, porn vs no porn, but until the world treats mental conditions properly, we will continue to read headlines of more senseless death.
Posted by lencho_elias on March 28, 2008 at 4:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Porn Again,"
Classic my friend, classic.
Anyone think the Satanic, Occult, witchcraft aspect of this story is of any significance?? Its funny to me that religion, Christianity, God has been blamed but no one's pointed to the Satanic part... or are we all too "smart" to consider the idea of the existance of true evil??
Posted by rickg19611 on March 28, 2008 at 7:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Its funny to me that religion, Christianity, God has been blamed but no one's pointed to the Satanic part... "
Why that would be intolerant of Satanists. Of course, the hatemongers feel fine with attacking Christianity, but they would NEVER want to say anything negative about Satan worshippers.
Posted by rickg19611 on March 28, 2008 at 7:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Stalin? A Christian. Mao? A Buddist."
"David Waters indeed was a deranged killer and an employee of American Atheists, but nowhere did I find anything where he himself claimed he was an atheist. He was, however, brought up in a religious household, which could well have contributed to his damaged mind and murderous intentions."
Yeah... Stalin was a REAL Christian and Mao was a Buddhist. ROFLMAO. How stupid does one need to be to believe that nonsense? Perhaps it is chemically induced fantasies.
Your attempt to excuse David Waters (American Atheist employee) for his murder was feeble. Even more pathetic was claiming that the American Atheist employee lived in a "religious" home when growing up . Those chemicals must be acting up again.
What is so pathetic is your inability to deal with the proof that shows your ignorance. Blaming religion for murders is as stupid as blaming Coloradoans for it. Or blaming the public school system. Or America.
Posted by GWBushwacked on March 28, 2008 at 10:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is so typical. People with mental illness quit or do not take their meds(they do not think they have mental illness) and have a family full of religiosity who reinforce that by praying for them to make the illness "go away". I work in mental health and see this often. Sadly enough, I am not surprised this happened.
I have a patient right now who is schizoaffective, bipolar type with mania whose parents had him exorcised at their church ( in front of 300 people none the less) after they took him off his meds. Guess where he is now ? Yup, committed.
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