Residents of a quiet Colorado Springs neighborhood recall 7-year-old Noah Murphy often whizzing down the sidewalk on roller skates. Meantime, his 5-year-old sister, Sophia, would dance and chase painted lady butterflies in the family’s front yard.

On Tuesday, anguished neighbors struggled to make sense of news that the children’s 19-year-old brother, Malik Vincent Murphy, was accused of fatally stabbing them while they slept in their own beds.

Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette An investigator with the Metro Crime Lab carries some gear into a home on Carlisle St. Two young children were found stabbed in what police are calling an "extremely gruesome" crime scene at a home in central Colorado Springs. Their older brother is being held as a suspect on Tuesday, October 17, 2017.

Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette An investigator with the Metro Crime Lab goes under crime tape and carries some gear into a home on Carlisle St. Two young children were found stabbed in what police are calling an "extremely gruesome" crime scene at a home in central Colorado Springs. Their older brother is being held as a suspect on Tuesday, October 17, 2017.

Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette Gilbert Masias was a neighbor to the chidren and said both were real sweet kids. He walks to the end of the block to have his boss pick him up for a day at work. Tuesday, October 15, 2017. Two children were stabbed to death and their father was wounded, also, in the Venetian Village part of town on Carlise St.



Colorado Springs Police Department via Twitter Malik Vincent Murphy

“I can’t even fathom what must have happened,” said Judy Barnes, who lives next door. “The Murphys, they are nice people. They were adorable kids. The babies — why, why, why? What happened?”

Colorado Springs police arrested Murphy early Tuesday. He is being held without bond in the El Paso County Jail for investigation of two counts of first-degree murder in the children’s deaths. Murphy also allegedly stabbed his father, Jefferson, 42, who is expected to live.

During interviews, the young man told police he wanted to kill his family and bury them in the backyard so he could be alone in their house, according to his arrest affidavit.

Bobbie McCottrell, the children’s great aunt, speculated that mental illness may have pushed Murphy to kill his siblings. In March, he was arrested on arson charges after burning his parents’ SUV in Effingham, Ill. He was on court-ordered medications and released to his parents’ care after they asked for the charges to be dropped.

“I think he had mental problems,” McCottrell said. “That’s a tragedy. I’ve just been praying. Lord have mercy.”

Murphy shared a room in the basement of the family home in the 900 block of Carlisle Street with Noah and Sophia, according to his arrest warrant affidavit. He told police he began stabbing his sister while she slept. He thinks he stabbed her three times as she yelled his name. He then stabbed his brother three times.

Jefferson Murphy told police he woke to screaming coming from the basement. When he ran downstairs, his son turned the knife on him, stabbing him in the neck. Jefferson Murphy fought with his son, managing to push Malik into the garage and hold him down until police arrived. He told police the teen had previously talked about killing family members.

Police were called to the Murphy family home at 1:11 a.m., said Lt. Howard Black, a spokesman for Colorado Springs police. When officers arrived, they found three stabbing victims and took them to UCHealth Memorial Hospital.

Police, paramedics and hospital staffers used heroic measures in an effort to save children, but both died.

“I don’t care how long you’ve done this job or how much you’ve seen, these things are devastating. It was hard to stand in front of a camera and speak about them,” Black said.

After police arrested Murphy, he told a detective he purchased a knife at Walmart several months ago and decided he wanted to kill his family.

“Malik Murphy stated his plan was to kill his entire family and then bury them in the backyard, and this would allow him to be alone in his residence,” the affidavit says.

Vicky Mason, the stepgrandmother of the five Murphy children, described a “wonderful family.”

“Malik babysat his brothers and sisters many times. He was very, very good with his brothers and sisters,” Mason said. She said Malik was planning to return to community college.

Neighbors, including Barnes, said the family was very close. Malik would often play with Noah and Sophia in their front yard and on the basketball court in their driveway. The family also includes a 17-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl.

“Noah was learning to skate. One day he was barreling down the sidewalk and I told him to slow down,” Barnes said.

Last week, Barnes was having a discussion with their mother about the hundreds of butterflies in the area as the women stood in their front yards. Melissa Murphy said she thought the butterflies were monarchs.

“When I said no, they were painted ladies on migration, Sophia asked, ‘Why did they paint the ladies?’”

“The children were just beautiful. Beautiful,” Barnes said.

None of the neighbors saw signs of any danger. Barnes said she had never seen police at the Murphy home until Tuesday morning, when she saw fire and police vehicles. She noticed that Malik’s 17-year-old brother walking aimlessly around the yard.

“I never suspected anything that would be a cause for concern. I’d hear them carrying on, and I knew that they were a big family of five and that you’d expect squabbles. I would just shut my door,” Barnes said. “But I never imagined it could be this bad.”