The year’s most mysterious and potentially disturbing death came on a Sunday morning in August. 
At St. Barnabas Hospital, Billy “Peanut” Murphy, a heavy drinking, big hearted, homeless man who often took refuge in Epiphany Lutheran Church on East 206th Street, succumbed to severe injuries suffered days earlier.
Epiphany Lutheran Vicar Bob Rainis, a former NYPD homicide detective, read Murphy his last rites and came away convinced “Peanut” had been the victim of a savage beating that led to his death.
Rainis, along with many local residents and a core group of Murphy’s drinking buddies, said Murphy’s beating was only the latest attack on the area’s homeless population. In the last two years, at least three other homeless men may have been beaten. One died and police classified the case an accident. Two others haven’t been seen or heard from since.
Several people believed local teenagers were preying on the vulnerable (and often inebriated) homeless men for kicks, or else “there’s some psycho out there targeting these guys,” Rainis said.
Police said this was the first they had heard about assaults on the homeless. A witness told them Murphy, who often had problems staying upright, had fallen while attempting to remove an air conditioner. And without any other evidence, police began treating the case as an accident.
The Medical Examiner’s office, however, initially ruled Murphy’s death a homicide and that he had been “assaulted by others,” according to the Daily News. But then in mid-November, weeks after its initial ruling, the ME’s office changed the results to “undetermined.” Detectives with the 52nd Precinct continue to say they found no evidence of an assault.
Correction: In our original article about Billy Murphy’s death, “Death of Popular Homeless Man Raises Questions” (Aug. 23), we wrote Murphy was part-owner of Derby Bar in Norwood, based on accounts from a handful of acquaintances. But the former owner of Derby, who knew Murphy, said that was not, in fact, the case.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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For the first time since 1928 a lighted Christmas Tree graced the garden area of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Epiphany on E 206th st. The tree was purchased with funds from Billy’s Memorial Fund. $500 was given by the Brown Family, Billy’s first cousins.The first string of lights were red and they belonged to Billy “Peanut” Murphy, whose death last summer still haunts many in the community. Billy had adopted the garden a couple of years earlier and had kept the lights in the church’s tool shed. He anticipated the time when such a tree would be planted and he intended that he would provide for its initial lighting. This year was the first year that I, as Pastoral Vicar of the congregation, hung the evergreen wreaths on the church doors without Billy’s help.
I am not yet convinced that Billy’s death was “accidential”, as the NYPD has maintained. I have never been a member of the NYPD and never represented myself to the Norwood News reporter as such. I had been a police officer for 25 years, serving in 2 police departments (Washington DC and AMTRAK) then in NYC service as Asst Chief Investigator and First Director of the Citi-wide Field Associate Program. My last 13 years was as a Sr Investigator (Sgt) in the Brooklyn DA Office. It was there that I was assigned to multi-jurisdictional homicide-narcotic-money laundering task forces.
Autopsy pictures revealed wounds which were not consistant with a fall. Bruising to Billy’s neck, could have been caused by a choke hold. Wounds on his hands and knuckles were consistant with those of one who was in a fight. Conclusive, absolutely not.!.However, the NYPD did not initiate an investigation until nearly a month had passed since his death. “the First 48 hours” isn’t just a TV show. Witnesses become harder to locate, stories change, memories become even foggier. Fact is turned to fiction and visa-versa.
This isn’t about NYPD not doing their job, or a retired police supervisor turned preacher looking for clues to ” crack” a case. This is all about the death of a citizen who lived and worked and was loved in our community. It was and is a senseless death, notwithstanding its causes. The PD can’t do its job unless it is assisted by the public ( you/me). Wanna help cut crime in Norwood, see something…say something…don’t be silent or passive….its YOUR community!
This Christmas a tree was lighted in a garden where once Billy tilled and loved.