Larry Taylor

A dispute between neighbors at a Mobile, Alabama, apartment complex ended in a fatal shooting just days before Christmas in 2020. Larry Taylor, a 39-year-old Black man, was killed in the encounter. On the night of Monday, December 21, 2020, police were called to the Avalon Plaza Apartments on Michael Boulevard around 10:16 p.m. for a report of a person shot. Officers arrived to find Larry Taylor suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced deceased by medical personnel.

The investigation quickly led to Taylor’s downstairs neighbor, Jonathan Murphy, a 35-year-old off-duty Prichard police officer who also worked as a "courtesy officer" providing security for the complex. Murphy was arrested the following day and charged with murder. The Prichard Police Department terminated his employment following the arrest. It was reported that Murphy had been involved in a prior fatal shooting in 2017 while on duty, though he was not charged in that incident.

Witnesses and court testimony painted a picture of ongoing animosity between the two men. A neighbor told reporters she heard a commotion and arguing, followed by five or six loud gunshots that were so close she could see the flash from the weapon reflect on her wall. An investigator testified that an argument between Taylor and Murphy turned physical. Taylor’s girlfriend said she saw Murphy pointing a gun and pleaded with him to call the police, to which he allegedly replied, “I am the police.” During the trial, prosecutors presented text messages Murphy had sent expressing his frustration with his neighbor, including one that read, "I might have to murk my neighbor."

After being released on bail, Murphy awaited trial. His first murder trial began in October 2023. Prosecutors argued that Murphy shot an unarmed man at close range inside his own apartment, while the defense maintained that Murphy acted in self-defense in his role as a courtesy officer. The trial ended with a hung jury, and the judge declared a mistrial.

The Mobile County District Attorney’s Office chose to retry the case. At the second trial in August 2025, the defense portrayed Murphy as a "new sheriff in town" who was trying to control unruly tenants. The prosecution countered, "This is not the Wild West," and argued that Murphy beat Taylor, followed him as he retreated into his apartment, and then fatally shot him. After deliberating for about two hours, the jury found Jonathan Murphy not guilty of murder. As of the acquittal in August 2025, the case is legally closed.