Murder-suicide victims were dead when cops arrived

The day after police converged on a Selden home for what they thought was a hostage standoff, new details have emerged that reveal the occupants of the home were already dead when cops arrived. Police

News 12 Staff

Jan 24, 2008, 3:37 AM

Updated 6,162 days ago

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The day after police converged on a Selden home for what they thought was a hostage standoff, new details have emerged that reveal the occupants of the home were already dead when cops arrived.
Police believed a man had barricaded himself and his estranged wife in the home. Later that night, police confirmed 38-year-old Sean Murphy and his wife, Linda Murphy, were dead.
Police now say Linda Murphy was stabbed dozens of times at around 9:30 a.m. They also say the husband brought a teen girl into the home under the guise of babysitting and raped her. Murphy sent the girl outside to get cigarettes from his car and that's when he shot himself, police say. The teen ran for her life and went for help, authorities say.
Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick says before Sean Murphy killed himself, he called a neighbor to make sure the couple?s two young children would be picked up from the school bus in the afternoon. Neighbors say they are shocked by the events and that their hearts go out to the kids the couple left behind.
Police say the couple had been estranged for about a month and that there was a history of domestic disputes. They say a restraining order was in place against the husband. Fitzpatrick says financial trouble and the couple?s impending divorce may have driven Murphy to commit the crimes.
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