Alexis Tiara Murphy was a 17 year old girl who went missing from Nelson County, Virginia on August 3, 2013. Her killer was found guilty back in 2014, but Alexis’s remains were not discovered until December 2020.
Alexis Murphy was born on June 5, 1996 in Nelson County, Virginia. Those around Alexis described her as a beautiful and vibrant young woman. In an interview, her mother Laura Murphy stated, “She could make you smile…I miss her so much.” Alexis was also well known for her social media presence, especially on the app Vine which she loved to make videos with.
On August 3, 2013, Alexis left the home where she lived with her mother and grandmother to run some errands before taking her high school senior pictures. Before leaving for work, Alexis’s mother recalls seeing her one last time as she gave her money for her hair, saying that Alexis was happy and laughing.
After she left her home, Alexis headed to Lynchburg, Virginia to complete her errands. She was last seen at a Liberty gas station in Lovingston, Virginia, a local spot known for teens hanging out.
It was discovered by Alexis’s grandmother the next day that Alexis had not made it home before her curfew. At this, her parents filed a missing persons report. Alexis’s many friends and followers on social media were a huge help in spreading awareness to help find her, using the hashtag #FindAlexisMurphy. A search for Alexis was conducted by the Virginia state police and the FBI.
On August 6, 2013, Alexis’s car was found abandoned in a theater parking lot in Albemarle County, Virginia. Nearby surveillance footage caught Alexis’s car pulling into this parking lot the day after she went missing at around 10:30 P.M., but investigators could not tell who was behind the wheel from the footage. Investigators then went back to check surveillance footage from the gas station that Alexis was last seen at, getting a new lead on Alexis’s whereabouts.
In the gas station footage, Alexis is seen entering the gas station by herself, but on her way out, a man with a large duck tattoo on his neck holding the door open for Alexis. The man’s unique looking car, a camouflage Suburban, was also caught on the gas station’s surveillance footage. Finally, the footage shows this Suburban leaving the gas station and Alexis’s car following right behind it.
The FBI later found Alexis’s cell phone on an abandoned property, which was about a mile away from where she was last seen. The same camouflage Suburban was found parked at this location. The man staying on this property was Randy Taylor. He was the same man on the gas station surveillance footage as he had the identifying duck tattoo. Staff at the gas station recall seeing Randy come there often, stating that he would park some distance from the store and just watch people go in and out, making them feel uncomfortable. On August 10, 2013, Randy Taylor was arrested in connection to Alexis’s disappearance.
While being investigated, Randy made it adamant that he had not done anything to Alexis nor did he know where she was. However, while searching Randy’s trailer, investigators made several discoveries tying him to Alexis. Immediately upon searching, investigators discovered a diamond earring stud in the carpet, along with a strand of black hair on one of Randy’s pillows and a fingernail. These items were tested for DNA, which later confirmed they belonged to Alexis. Randy tried to protect himself by claiming that Alexis did come over to his trailer, but she was with another man, Damien Brown, who she later left with too. Damien had his own criminal record and crimes that he was being investigated for, which also included the disappearances of other young girls in the area. Though Damien stated he knew of Alexis, he claimed that he was never with Alexis and he had a solid alibi. He also stated that he didn’t even know who Randy Taylor was.
After the police notified Alexis’s family that they had made an arrest, the family was asked about what they knew of Randy Taylor. Although his name was not familiar, Alexis’s mother Laura realized that Taylor was the same man who had sold a car to her from a used car lot he’d previously worked at.
It was also discovered that just 45 minutes before he was seen at the gas station with Alexis, Randy had purchased 2 pornographic videos, making the investigators feel that there was some sexual motivation behind Randy’s involvement with Alexis’s disappearance. After getting a search warrant, investigators looked through Randy’s trailer again, where they discovered a bloodied T-shirt balled up with a hair extension and 2 false eyelashes under his couch. These items were tested, to which they matched Alexis’s DNA. In Randy’s trailer, investigators also found a book with pornographic photos replaced with the face of the daughter of one of his coworkers.
On September 24, 2013, Randy Taylor was indicted on two felony charges. Then on January 2014, he was indicted again on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree felony murder and abduction with intent to defile.
Randy Taylor’s trial began on May 1, 2014. Taylor pleaded not guilty to his charges, making his previous claim that Alexis was with Damien Brown and he didn’t know what happened after she left his trailer. However, all of the circumstantial evidence and evidence found in his home and on his property pointed to him as the suspect. Even though Alexis’s body had not been found yet, Taylor was found guilty and charged for first-degree murder in the commission of an abduction and abduction with intent to defile. Taylor tried to negotiate for a lesser sentence, stating that there was a 3rd person involved and that he would reveal where Alexis was in exchange for a 20 year sentence. This negotiation was declined and Randy Taylor was sentenced to 2 life sentences on July 23, 2014.
On December 3, 2020, remains were found on a private property near Lovingston, Virginia. The remains were tested and were positively identified as those of Alexis Murphy on February 5, 2021. The identification was later announced publicly on February 17, 2021.
Thinking about what Alexis went through in her final moments is so horrific and I only hope that she is at peace now and that her family is finally at peace being able to finally put their daughter to rest. What happened to Alexis was absolutely sickening, but thankfully her killer will never be out to harm anyone again. We will all continue to carry on Alexis’s memory and she will be remembered as the energetic, fun, and beautiful young woman she was.
“Keep hope alive, you’re somebody” -Alexis Murphy
Resources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Alexis_Murphy
Instagram.com/pinkforalexis
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