Husband Stabs Wife To Death in Washington After Restraining Order Against Him was Denied

After a court refused her a permanent restraining order against him, a Washington state man reportedly stabbed his estranged wife to death. According to court papers, Michael Murrah, 45, told investigators that the woman was a "star beast" and that he murdered her to "fulfill a prophecy."

A probable cause affidavit reported by KOIN-TV and other sites states Murrah turned up with a Bible in his hand at his old house in the city of Vancouver, Washington on Sunday and confronted Monica Murrah.

Restraining order plea was denied due to insufficient evidence

Monica, also known as Star Murrah, attempted to obtain a permanent restraining order against her husband during their divorce proceedings, but the judge denied her plea.
Star Murrah said in the application that she feared for her and their 8-year-old son's lives.

In July 2020, she obtained a temporary restraining order, alleging that he had become intoxicated and hit and choked her on multiple occasions, as per the Columbian. Her spouse had also choked her kid, who was then seven years old, according to the allegation.

The restraining order was refused following a full hearing in August due to insufficient reasons. At about 10:40 am, police were dispatched to the Murrah residence. They discovered Michael Murrah with a knife and blood on his hands on Sunday. The Washington woman's son was at home but uninjured, Oregonian reported.

Michael Murrah allegedly referred to his wife as star beast while in jail and said he murdered her to fulfill a prophecy. He will be arraigned on November 19 on a first-degree murder charge with a $2 million bond.

On August 14, 2020, the woman filed for divorce from her husband, more than a week after a judge rejected her a permanent order of protection. When she was slain, their divorce had not yet been finalized.

Commissioner refused to comment

The pair, however, had been living in different residences, according to authorities. The wife claimed in her restraining order request that her husband strangled and kicked their 7-year-old boy. She also said he threatened her with firearms, as per The Charlotte Observer.

She also told the court that her husband choked their kid, who was 7 years old at the time she first requested the restraining order last year. According to court documents, the restraining order was temporarily renewed in July of this year, but it was later rejected in a full hearing to make the order permanent in August.

Cassie Croon, a judicial procedural expert at the county's Superior Court Clerk's Office said Clark County Court Commissioner Carin Schienberg refused the restraining order because "a preponderance of the evidence has not proved there was domestic violence."

Schienberg declined to comment on her ruling through her judicial aide Rebecca Wittenborn. At around 10:40 am on Sunday, police responded to a complaint of a weapon assault in the 400 block of F Street, according to authorities.

Police said officers came to discover Michael Murrah carrying a knife outside a residence with blood on his hands and Monica Murrah inside with stab wounds. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 10 million people are physically assaulted by a spouse each year.

There are 24 people who are "victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States" every minute. If you are experiencing domestic violence and need help, contact 1-800-799-7233 or text "START" to 88788 to reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline.