Prison Nurse Allegedly Killed Husband With Antifreeze So She Could Marry Inmate

JEFFERSON CITY, MO — A prison nurse is accused of fatally poisoning her husband with antifreeze so that she could marry an inmate with whom she allegedly had a relationship.

Amy Murray, 40, was arrested on Thursday and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of her husband, Joshua Murray. She was also charged with second-degree arson, tampering with physical evidence, and armed criminal action.

Police found the body of Joshua at the couple’s home in Iberia on December 11. The house had been burned, and investigators have said that they believe Amy used accelerant to start a fire in order to cover up her crime.

Police said autopsy results indicated that Joshua Murray died before the fire began, according to the Miller County Sheriff's Office.

In shades of the infamous Dannemora case, investigators believe that a possible motive for the murder could have been Amy’s alleged relationship with Eugene Claypool, who is serving a life sentence for murder.

In her role as a nurse at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, she became involved in a romantic relationship with Claypool, according to authorities, and even planned to marry Claypool.

After setting the fire, she fled the home with her 11-year-old son, according to probable-cause documents obtained by local news outlets.

Amy told investigators that she'd gone to McDonald's, and came home to find the house on fire. She explained that the smoke was too heavy for her to go inside.

Miller County Sheriff Louie Gregoire told KMIZ that the sheriff’s office detectives and investigators from the fire marshal’s office determined that the fire appeared “suspicious.”

Investigators also found clues in phone conversations between Amy and Claypool that referred to “having a life now that Joshua Murray was deceased and out of the picture,” according to probable-cause documents obtained by Lake Expo.

Following her arrest, Murray was being held at the Miller County Adult Detention Center on a $750,000 bond.

Read more: New York Daily News, ABC News