On September 28, 2024, 41-year-old John Henry McMurphy Jr was shot and killed at his home on 8th Street in Adrian, Missouri. McMurphy, a Dental IT Manager and active member of Bikers Against Child Abuse, was found unresponsive on the dining room floor with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. A spent shell casing was recovered in the rifle’s chamber; the magazine was otherwise empty.

That night at about 11:20 p.m. the Bates County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a male who identified himself as Curtis and admitted to shooting his father and fleeing on foot. McMurphy’s wife said she was awakened by the gunshot, encountered Curtis in the hallway as she investigated, and was handed a rifle while he said he had already called 911 and had to do it. Officers located Curtis about a block away and took him into custody without incident.

The Bates County Prosecutor charged Curtis with first-degree murder and armed criminal action; he was held in the Bates County Jail without bond and pleaded not guilty at his initial court appearance. Does anyone have information about the events that led up to that night or knew John McMurphy’s family?