A mental health placement hearing is scheduled today for former real estate agent Barret Paul Murphy.
Mr. Murphy will appear before Judge Michael Carrozzo in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
On Oct. 11, 2017, Mr. Murphy was charged with attempted murder, forcible rape and assault with intent to commit rape, among other charges.
He pleaded not guilty on Nov. 29, 2017. On April 22 Judge Carrozzo found him not guilty by reason of insanity of stalking and infliction of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. The other charges were dropped in February according to court records.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ben Ladinig said he expects Mr. Murphy to eventually be placed in a state hospital for “a significant period of time.”
According to a report from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, at around 7:26 a.m. Oct. 6, 2017 deputies responded to a call for service in the Montecito area.
The reporting party said a woman was screaming for help and was being chased by a male subject with a knife in his hand.
Deputies determined Mr. Murphy broke into the victim’s home, sexually assaulted her and attempted to kill her with the knife.
The victim managed to escape and flag down a passing vehicle for help.
Mr. Murphy was arrested and booked into County Jail. He was 49 years old at the time of his arrest. He has remained in jail on $1 million bail ever since.
According to his Linkedin and Zillow profiles, Mr. Murphy was a Santa Barbara and Montecito area real estate agent.
An online artist biography for the Santa Barbara punk rock band Boxheads, claimed Mr. Murphy formed the band in 1983 with his late brother, Sean. In 2012 Mr. Murphy brought the band members back together and they played gigs until 2016.
