Woman Fights To Continue Investigation Into Husband's Mysterious Death At Bottom Of LA River
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — How did a Los Angeles actor go from a Metro station in North Hollywood after a screening to being found face-down and dead at the bottom of the L.A. River?
This question, and others, haunt 34-year-old Jason Murphy's wife, Dina. She continues to question the findings of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Coroner after her husband's death last September.
"He was my other half. We were two halves of a whole. I came to realize that," Dina Murphy says.
Jason Murphy's body was found on Sept. 20, 2018, in the Los Angeles River, near Figueroa and Avenue 19 in the Cypress Park area. He was found 30 feet below street level, face-down in several inches of water. His wallet, wedding ring and money were found on his body – but his phone was missing.
Jason and Dina had recently married and just returned to Los Angeles from their honeymoon. Dina Murphy says the heartbreaking news was delivered via phone calls – first from her new mother-in-law, then from the coroner's office.
"Are you sitting down? Because I just got this call – from the coroner," Dina Murphy remembers hearing.
Her new husband had been found at about 2 a.m. with no apparent trauma – a finding that would change later.
The night before, Dina had dropped her husband off at a screening in North Hollywood. Friends said he later went to a nearby after-party, then left to go home.
Security video at the Metro station in North Hollywood captured footage of Jason just before he died. Video shows him clearly passing through a turnstile and buying a TAP card in the station. At some point not captured on video, he exits the Metro station. But how he ends up in the LA River remains a mystery.
Dina Murphy says the part of the river where her husband was found is near where they used to live. But why would he decide to walk through such a dicey area, near where the 5 and 110 Freeways meet?
The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled Jason Murphy's death an accident and listed the cause as "drowning with contribution of ethanol intoxication." His blood alcohol level was found to be .23, and he had some injuries – herniation, several abrasions, a minor laceration to his left eyebrow, and cuts on his hands, possibly from barbed wire.
But the report also noted "a possible proposed scenario was that Mr. Murphy was pushed or dropped from the top of the wall or the road above." The report then walks that back by saying "but the lack of significant trauma is not supportive of this scenario" and "the most probable cause of death is drowning while intoxicated." If there was an altercation that led to Jason Murphy's death, the report says "it is unknown where the possible incident occurred."
Even amid the troubling details, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office is standing by its report.
"We are confident in our findings and the determination made by Dr. Miller. We have no additional comment as the report speaks for itself," coroner's officials said in a statement.
A Los Angeles police detective assigned to the case says the investigation has not figured out how Jason ended up dead in the river, but witnesses did say Jason Murphy was seen yelling and flailing his arms as he hopped a fence. Dina Murphy says detectives never shared those details with her.
"People don't just end up face down in two inches of water without their phone. All of those things don't add up for me," she said.
A GoFundMe is raising money to continue the investigation into Jason Murphy's death. Dina Murphy says she won't be able to rest until she finds closure.
"It's always on my mind. I'm really never not thinking about it," she said. "He really was my soulmate."
