Family, Friends & Fellow Officers Remember...

Officer Murphy,

I am glad justice is being done after all these years. As the anniversary of your passing is coming up I just wanted to say thank you for your service and sacrifice.

Tonya LaFarr
Private Citizen, Law Enforcement Supporter

November 26, 2023

Thank you for your service Matt. So glad somebody has been arrested for your
death. RIP matt.

DEBBIE Oelschlegel
Just someone in a nearby town who remembers when he was killed

October 30, 2021

My favorite uncle! My mother, his sister, finally has peace as with the rest of his family that his murder was finally solved. His EOW was the same day as his grandmother's birthday. He was raised by her and I have no doubt she took him home to heaven with her. Rest in peace Uncle Matt. Your brothers & sisters in blue will take it from here.

Julia Murphy-Callahan
Niece

October 13, 2020

Rest in peace Patrolman Murphy.

Rabbi Lewis S. Davis

October 7, 2019

Justice finally, god speed brother!!!

Judge /retired SC Trooper Danny Lynn
Aiken County, SC

December 1, 2017

Rest in peace.

Lt. Jim Russo

November 11, 2017

Posted in the Alice Echo News Journal
By Melissa Cantu Trevino
Posted Nov 9, 2017 at 8:15 PM

Arrest made in 43-year-old murder of Alice police officer

Forty-three years later, police arrested 70-year-old Roberto Lopez as a suspect in the murder of Alice police officer Matthew (Matt) Murphy who was shot and killed in the line of duty on Dec. 1, 1974.

On Wednesday, Laredo Cold Case Texas Ranger Nathaniel Mutz, Alice Police Chief Rex Ramon and Alice Police Department Sgt. Aniceto Perez traveled to Alabama to serve the arrest warrant on the capital murder of Officer Murphy.

According to court documents, Lopez shot and killed Murphy while on duty as an Alice police officer on Dec. 1, 1974. The documents state that Lopez knew Murphy was a police officer at the time of the shooting.
Lopez is incarcerated at St. Clair Correctional Facility in Springville, Alabama. He is doing life for an armed robbery charge. He also has several alias which include Robert Ramos Jr., Roberto Lopez Ramos and Roberto Ramos Ramirez.

Forty-three years after Murphy’s death, Mutz with the assistance of Alice PD picked up the cold case and throughly examined cold case files and the evidence before them.

According to Alice Echo News original story in 1974, Murphy, 33 at the time, was shot and killed during a traffic stop at West Main Street and U.S. Highway 281 in Alice. Murphy had been a member of the Alice PD for three years before the incident.

Murphy, according to former Police Chief Randy Weems, was searching for a vehicle with narcotics that was passing through town when he conducted a traffic stop with a possible yellow vehicle.

Another officer found Murphy suffering from four gunshot wounds after the initial traffic stop. Murphy was transported to a local hospital, where he later died in the emergency room at the old Alice P&S Hospital.

The 70-year-old suspect had been interviewed by investigators before - once under former Alice Police Chief Jack Compton between 1993 and 1995, and recently by Chief Ramon.

According to Chief Ramon and other police officials, Chief Compton received a letter from a Alabama prison warden that stated a “jail house snitch” had released information about the shooting death of an Alice officer; which prompted the investigation.

According to Weems, when he reviewed the evidence Lopez had allegedly been involved in a robbery in a nearby town and stole a gun matching the caliber used in Murphy’s shooting. An autopsy by the medical examiner recovered four .22 caliber bullets from Officer Murphy’s body, according to court documents. The bullets hit several major organs.

Murphy left behind a wife, a son, and a daughter. His family is expected to be at a press conference by Alice PD on Monday.

Police Officer-retired
NYPD

November 11, 2017

matt ,i was 13 when this happened in alice texas,today im happy to say they made an arrest in alabama at a prison today in your case,i hope they find out why this happened and the real reason behind this,just to let you all know that follow this thread,r i p matt

francis pawelek
citizen of alice texas

November 10, 2017

R.I.P. Officer Murphy, your case has been reopened and hopefully will shed some light on the responsible person to bring them to justice.

A local peace officer
TX

March 9, 2017

RIP brother, you will never be forgotten.

Officer J. Honeycutt
Utah Valley University Police

July 20, 2016

Dear Grandfather,
I wish we could have met in person. I was the first out of four grandchildren who will only have pictures and memories to know what a great person, husband and father you were. I hope to help put those who took you away behind bars. You are loved and missed by everyone and in our hearts always. Love you.
Millie G.

SrA Millie Goynes
Family

November 9, 2015

Thank you for your service and for helping to make America a safer place.

Deputy Brian Jones
Boulder County Sheriff's Office, CO

January 24, 2013

Your heroism and service is honored today, the 37th anniversary of your death. Your memory lives and you continue to inspire. Thank you for your service. My cherished son Larry Lasater was a fellow police officer murdered in the line of duty on April 24, 2005 while serving as a Pittsburg, CA police officer.

Rest In Peace

Phyllis Loya
mother of fallen officer Larry Lasater, PPD, eow 4/24/05

December 1, 2011

So many questions left unanswered time has a funny way of coming back to haunt those who have done wrong. Rest asure and in peace that your death and your sacrifice will not be forgotten....

Texas Peace Officer

January 3, 2010

Matt,
Matt,
I first learned of your sacrifice in 1993 from my father, Kenneth, who protected the city of Alice with you. I check your profile periodically to see if by the Grace of God your killer(s)have been brought to justice. Thanks for your service here on earth and know your killer(s) will one day have to answer to a higher authority if they haven't already. Rest in Peace my Brother

Helms 239
Colonial Heights, Va P.D.

December 25, 2009

RIP BROTHER THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

DANIEL
Orange Grove Police Dept

April 6, 2009

God Speed, Brother.

P.O.K.Murphy
Union PD, NJ

January 10, 2009

As my career's end is coming closer, I decided to check and find those who had lost their lives during the year that I was hired. While it's been many years since your passing, I'm sure those you left behind and those whom with you served with distinction have kept you alive in their memories. Thank you for your service and for looking out for us who continue in our chosen profession. Rest in peace Patrolman Murphy.

Sgt. Robert Mau Sr.
PD Joliet IL

December 19, 2008

Matt,

It has been 33 years since you paid the ultimate price for protecting the people of the community you and I both served and I still think of you and your family almost daily. I still pray that someday God will see that those responsible for your death are brought to justice.

Rest in peace, brother.

Gerald Keown
TCLEOSE, Retired

April 11, 2008

"The Badge"

He starts his shift each day
To respond to calls unknown.
He drives a marked patrol car.
A police officer he is known.

He's paid by the citizens' taxes
To make it safe on the streets.
But he usually has a second job
'Cause a waitress has his salary beat.

Now he doesn't know a holiday
'Cause he works all year round.
And when Thanksgiving and Christmas finally arrive
At his home he cannot be found.

He's cursed and assaulted often,
The one whos blood runs blue.
He seldom ever gets a thanks,
To some he's just a fool.

His friends are always other cops
'Cause people just don't understand
That underneath his badge and gun,
He's just another man.

He knows there might not be a tomorrow
In this world of drugs and crime.
And he gets so mad at the court system
'Cause the crooks don't get any time.

And each day when he leaves for work,
He prays to God above.
Please bring me home after my shift
So I can see the ones I love.

But tonight he stops a speeding car,
He's alone down this ole' highway.
It's just a little traffic infraction.
He does it everyday.

Well, he walks up to the driver's window,
And his badge is shining bright.
He asked the guy for a driver's license,
When a shot rang through the night.

Yes, the bullet hit its mark,
Striking the officer in the chest.
But the Department's budget didn't buy
Each officer a bullet-proof vest.

So he lay on the ground bleeding.
His blood wasn't blue - His blood was red.
And briefly he thought of his loved ones
'Cause in a moment the officer was dead.

In the news they told the story
Of how this officer had died.
And some who listened cared less,
But those who loved him cried.

Well, they buried him in uniform
With his badge pinned on his chest.
He even had his revolver,
He died doing his best.

Written By:
David L. Bell
Sergeant
Richland County Sheriff's Department
Columbia, South Carolina
Used with Special Permission of the Author
Copyright © 1999 - All Rights Reserved
and may not be duplicated without permission

Investigator David L Bell
Richland County Sheriff's Dept., Columbia, SC

January 30, 2008

You are remembered today and thank you Sir for your service

vandenberghe
manchester, nh

December 1, 2007

I'm so sorry... I only hope and pray that God found a way to punish your killer because our justice system could not.

I remember you today, and everyday.

December 1, 2005

Matt was an honorable police officer with a great personality. His death left a wife and two children without a father. Matt always had the time to discuss law enforcement. He is missed by all who knew him. Someday those responsible for his death will be brought to justice.

Johnny Sexton, Manager Police In-Service
Houston Community College Public Safety Careers Training Academy

January 5, 2005

On the anniversary of your death, I salute you for your service and honor you for your sacrifice.

A hero never dies....

Rest in peace, hero.

December 1, 2004

I came upon your death in a newspaper article in Corpus Christi when I was a young trouble maker. Many years later and stationed just 30 minutes south of where you worked, I still cannot believe your killer is still at-large. I pray that your case will see the light of day at Texas Rangers HQ's and your killer will be known. I think of you often, just wanting to know what happened that night...

TROOPER R.E. ROSALES
TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

July 16, 2004