Karen Wynne Murphy, 41, of Bristow, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of child neglect, which was a reduction from a felony murder charge.
According to the terms of the agreement, Murphy will serve no prison time, but will remain on adult probation for six years and may undergo psychiatric evaluation and treatment. She will also serve 400 hours of community service at the Prince William Animal Shelter.
Judge William D. Hamble sentenced Murphy in the Prince William County Circuit Court. Murphy’s attorney Edward MacMahon proposed the plea bargain, which effectively reduced her felony charges to misdemeanors. Prosecutor Paul Ebert, representing the Commonwealth of Virginia, accepted the deal.
Murphy, who was visibly shaken and tearing up in court, plead guilty to the lesser charges, and agreed to relinquish her right to defend herself in front of a jury of her peers or contest the decision of the judge.
Hamble accepted Murphy’s guilty plea to the two counts of child neglect and agreed to suspend the prison term of her sentence.
Murphy, the Caring Hands Veterinarian and Bristow mother, was originally charged with a felony in the accidental death of her son, Ryan Murphy, found dead in his car seat in his mother’s minivan on June 17, 2011. Murphy left her son in the car that hot summer day, and continued to work a full shift. She discovered the child dead in his car seat only after driving home from work.
The second charge of child neglect resulted from another instance in which Murphy unwittingly left her child in the car for less than an hour, when she forget to take him to preschool in Jan. of 2011.
In requesting a leaner sentence, MacMahon stated that Murphy had, “No criminal record what-so-ever. No brush with the law what-so-ever,” before this incident.
After the trial, the defense’s attorney MacMahon said, “(Dr. Murphy’s) devastated by the loss of her son. She’s here to deal with that.”
MacMahon added that the community has been a great source of strength for Dr. Murphy, who plans to involve herself with an organization called KidsinCars.org, “To make sure another family does not have to go through this.”
Prosecutor Ebert said that he agreed to the plea bargain, because, “I don’t think justice can be served by having her go to prison.”
When asked if he thought the original charge of murder was over-reaching, he said, “The neglect was egregious in this case, not once but twice.”
Yet, Ebert did agree to the lenient sentence, explaining a felony would have caused Murphy to loss her veterinary license.
“She will be well received at the shelter,” Ebert said.
He also told reporters, “I’m hopefully that people will think twice. People don’t realize when they leave a child in a car, how dangerous this could be.”
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