COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A 20-year-old Colorado man charged with fatally stabbing his two youngest siblings has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Malik Vincent Murphy entered his plea in Colorado Springs on Monday, two days before the anniversary of the killings of 7-year-old Noah and 5-year-old Sophia Murphy.
District Judge G. David Miller ruled that Murphy is competent to stand trial. The Gazette reports his plea will trigger a new round of psychiatric evaluations focusing on whether he knew what he was doing and understood the difference between right and wrong.
Court records say Murphy told investigators that he had been thinking about killing everyone in the house for months "to be by myself."