Ex-Prison Nurse Sentenced After Pleading Guilty in Husband’s Antifreeze Poisoning Death Linked to Inmate Affair

Amy L. Murray, 47, entered an Alford plea on Wednesday to a charge of second-degree murder in connection with the 2018 death of her husband, 37-year-old Joshua Murray. Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors likely have enough evidence to obtain a conviction at trial.

The case began unfolding in December 2018 when authorities responded to a house fire at the couple’s home in Iberia, Missouri. The remains of Joshua Murray were discovered on the bed in the master bedroom.

At first, the incident appeared to be a tragic case of a fatal fire. However, a medical examiner later determined that Joshua had died prior to the blaze as a result of ethylene glycol poisoning—a toxic substance commonly found in antifreeze.

Fire investigators soon determined that the fire was intentionally set, adding arson to the growing list of suspicions surrounding the case.

A probable cause affidavit revealed a troubling motive: Amy Murray had been engaged in an inappropriate and illicit relationship with an inmate at the Jefferson City Correctional Center, where she worked as a nurse.

The inmate, Eugene Claypool, is serving a life sentence for a 2001 second-degree murder conviction. Investigators reviewed recorded prison phone calls between Murray and Claypool that took place before the fatal fire.

In those calls, Murray voiced her desire to leave her husband and start a new life with Claypool, even suggesting marriage and discussing plans to hire an attorney to help reduce his sentence.

On the day of the fire, December 11, 2018, Murray told authorities that she, her 11-year-old son, and their two dogs had gone to a local McDonald’s. Upon returning, she claimed to have discovered the home engulfed in flames. She told investigators that she could not enter due to heavy smoke. However, the forensic timeline and toxicology results pointed to a different scenario.

In the days following the fire, Murray called Claypool and told him her husband was now “out of the picture,” clearing the way for their relationship. Prosecutors claimed that Murray had gone so far as to offer to pay for a legal challenge to Claypool’s incarceration.

As the investigation deepened, Murray was arrested and charged with multiple felonies: first-degree murder, armed criminal action, second-degree arson, and tampering with physical evidence related to her husband’s death. She also faced charges of first-degree sexual abuse and three counts of offender abuse stemming from her relationship with Claypool—serious violations of Department of Corrections policies and state law.

Facing overwhelming evidence, Murray opted to enter an Alford plea to a single count of second-degree murder as part of a negotiated agreement with prosecutors. On Tuesday, she was formally sentenced to 12 years in prison.

While the plea deal spares her the possibility of a life sentence, Murray’s conviction has sparked public outcry and raised alarms about oversight and professional boundaries within correctional facilities.

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The Missouri Department of Corrections has not commented on whether additional policy changes were implemented following the case.

Claypool remains incarcerated on his original murder conviction. No additional charges against him have been announced in connection to the Murray case.