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Published May 22, 2009 09:56 pm - MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — Ever since their daughter’s death, the Murphy family has sought answers and apologies. Some answers still elude them. Man assessed sentence in teen’s alcohol death By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com MOUNT VERNON, Mo. — Ever since their daughter’s death, the Murphy family has sought answers and apologies. Some answers still elude them. Jan Murphy remains in the dark as to why no one called an ambulance, or took her daughter to the hospital when it was only two blocks away. Jessica Murphy, 18, was found dead of alcohol poisoning March 4, 2007, after a party at the home of several Monett men the night before. Perhaps two dozen people attended the party at one point. A number of them watched Brandon K. Himes pour a half of a fifth of vodka and a half of a fifth of tequila, along with an unknown amount of beer, into a beer bong that fed into Jessica Murphy’s mouth. More than two years later, few have come forward to explain what happened. But the Murphys did get an apology on Friday. Not long after his apology, Himes, 24, formerly of Monett, was sentenced in Lawrence County Circuit Court to four years in prison for second-degree involuntary manslaughter. He had pleaded guilty to the charge in March. The Murphys had sought — and ultimately obtained — the maximum penalty. “You can’t imagine how much I miss my little girl,” Jan Murphy told Himes during his sentencing hearing. “You get to go to holidays, birthdays,” she told him later. “I get to go to the graveyard.” ‘Sick’ and ‘wrong’ Jan Murphy was one of eight family members who spoke during Himes’ hearing, calling for a steep prison sentence while delivering emotional and often blistering testimony. Tasha Shaner, Jessica Murphy’s cousin, questioned why Himes didn’t take Murphy to the hospital after feeding her the alcohol. 
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