Mansfield man investigated for unsolved murder also charged with sexual contact with minors

While investigating a local man’s possible connection to the death of his ex-wife in 2005, state police said they also discovered allegations of sexual contact with minors dating back more than 10 years.

State police said the Statute of Limitations prevents prosecution for one of the incidents, but William G. Murphy, 45, of 145 Brookside Lane, Mansfield, CT is still facing charges from alleged incidents in 2007 and 2008.

Murphy was arrested May 3 for second-degree unlawful restraint, two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, two counts of illegal sexual contact and risk of injury to a minor, according to state Justice Department records.

He was still being held on a combined $150,000 bond for the charges and is scheduled to appear in Rockville Superior Court again Thursday, May 12.

Police said that during their background check of Murphy last November, they learned of a referral to the state Department of Children and Families on Nov. 22, 2008, accusing Murphy of inappropriate activity with a 15­year-old victim and a 14-year-old victim.

Both girls in the referral were uncooperative and the investigation was originally dropped.

But a separate woman, now 28, contacted police in December after seeing information on the reward for the Caro investigation, the affidavit said.

The woman told police she had a sexual relationship with Murphy in 1999, when she was 15 and Murphy was still married to Caro, according to the affidavit.

State police said the statute of limitations prevents any prosecution for the 1999 relationship, but an officer tried to identify all of the parties in the DCF referral.

The babysitter

Police said they interviewed one alleged victim, who said she became a babysitter for Murphy’s children after meeting him in 2008 when she was 14.

According to police, she said she was never alone with Murphy, but she had information about a friend who received gifts and text messages from Murphy.

Police said they interviewed the girl and her mother, who both said Murphy bought the girl, who was 14 at the time, clothing and underwear from Victoria’s Secret. According to the affidavit, the girl said she was also babysitting for Murphy in 2008, but the two would often be alone.

The girl said they would watch movies depicting nudity and sexual activity, and Murphy would put his hands under her clothes and rub her stomach, according to the affidavit.

According to police, however, the girl said Murphy never touched her sexually but the girl also said that in October 2008, Murphy kissed her several times.

Her mother changed her cell phone number when she discovered the clothes and the girl said she ended contact with Murphy, according to the affidavit.

The 15-year-old alleged victim in the DCF referral told police she experienced several incidents of inappropriate behavior while babysitting for Murphy’s children in 2007, according to the affidavit.

She told police Murphy bought her a “very revealing” bathing suit and she felt uncomfortable when he rubbed tanning lotion on her during one occasion at the beach, according to the court documents.

She said Murphy once told her she left belongings at his home, but when she came to pick them up, there weren’t any and Murphy tried to trap her in his bedroom, the affidavit said.

Other women, including adults, interviewed during the investigation told police they did not feel comfortable around Murphy and suspected he had drugged drinks he made for them, according to the affidavit.

Anne Caro’s death

In affidavits for the two cases, state police said they were conducting a background check on Murphy as part of an investigation into the 2005 homicide of his ex-wife, Anne Caro.

Caro was pronounced dead after she was found unconscious around 9 p.m. on Aug. 28, 2005, in her 506 Stafford Road (Route 32) home in Mansfield. She had just turned 37.

The case remains unsolved and former Gov. M. Jodi Rell authorized a $50,000 reward in 2008 for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for Caro’s death.

State police spokesman Lt. Paul Vance said state police will often conduct background checks of family and friends “whenever we have a serious major crime investigation.”

He said the background check on Murphy last fall “doesn’t necessarily mean” Murphy is a suspect in the murder, and the sexual assault allegations found during the check do not change the investigation into Caro’s death.

Posted May 10 2011

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