EVERETT — A Marysville man tried to convince a judge that he was only following his 83-year-old mother’s wishes when he didn’t seek medical attention for her after a fall.
Steven Murrill volunteered to care for his ailing mother. It wasn’t an easy job, he said Monday. His mother was strong-willed and told him she didn’t want to die in a nursing home, Murrill said.
“I tried to make her as comfortable as possible, but I failed,” Murrill said. “I thought I knew more medically. I thought I could help her. I didn’t want to see her die.”
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Linda Krese wasn’t persuaded that Murrill, 63, was just being an obedient son. She questioned why he didn’t call 911 after his mother fell out of bed and her health deteriorated.
Doris Murrill fractured her femur. She also developed bed sores and couldn’t get out of bed to use the bathroom. Murrill eventually called 911 in July 2012, some six weeks after the fall.
His mother was emaciated and incoherent. Her bed was covered with blood, urine and feces. Doris Murrill was hospitalized and diagnosed with multiple open sores and a broken femur. She was malnourished and dehydrated. She died Oct. 18, 2012.
“The woman went through suffering in ways that are hard to imagine, and her son took on that responsibility,” Krese said.
The judge Monday sentenced Murrill to a year in jail. He had pleaded guilty in February to second-degree criminal mistreatment. The judge declined the defense’s request for a first-time offender waiver and a 3-month sentence.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Matt Hunter had asked that Murrill serve a year in behind bars, the maximum allowed by the state’s sentencing guidelines.
“It’s reasonable to conclude that the defendant didn’t let his mother rot to death in bed. He did let her rot in bed, literally, though,” Hunter said.
Murrill had first been charged with manslaughter.
An autopsy concluded that Doris Murrill died from multiple complications, including pneumonia and sepsis, the body’s reaction to severe infection. The autopsy also said that malnutrition, anemia, and cancer were contributing factors to her death. Her death was classified a homicide.
While preparing for trial, Hunter questioned the medical examiner about his expected testimony. The medical examiner explained that he couldn’t rule out that cancer may have been the sole cause of Doris Murrill’s death.
That was new information to prosecutors, who said they were compelled to re-evaluate the case.
Hunter was told that abuse more than likely contributed to the woman’s death, but a reasonable alternative could be that the undiagnosed cancer was responsible.
Prosecutors opted to drop the manslaughter charge. They were no longer certain that the defendant was responsible for his mother’s death.
Krese said Monday that there isn’t sufficient evidence to prove that the defendant’s actions led to his mother’s death.
“It’s clear his actions led to considerable suffering and substantial bodily harm,” Krese said. “Things could have been done.”
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.
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