After years of litigation and an extensive trial, a federal judge has ruled that Todd Murray’s death was self-inflicted. Murray was a passenger in a high speed chase in 2007 that ended within the Ute reservation. After the car crashed, the car’s occupants ran, including Murray who fired a gun at the pursuing officer before trying to hide and died from what the medical examiner concluded was a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. In the years since, multiple lawsuits and appeals have been filed alleging the officers illegally pursued Murray onto the reservation, that an officer killed him, and then made it took like a suicide. The plaintiffs in the most recent litigation are Todd Murray’s mother Debra Jones and the Estate of Arden Post, Murray’s father, who alleged that their son was not killed by a self-inflicted gunshot wound but rather was shot by a police officer. In 2009, Jones pursued a civil rights suit in the District of Utah and the district court entered summary judgment against the plaintiffs which was affirmed by the Tenth Circuit court as well. The current suit was filed in federal court in 2013 and after more than 10 years of litigation and with 2 appeals to the Federal Circuit, the claims of Murray’s parents went to trial in November 2023. The decision of United States Court of Federal Claims Judge Hertling was filed on May 7th. That 58 page Memorandum Opinion shares the following: “On April 1st, 2007, Todd Murray, a member of the Ute Tribe, died from a contact gunshot wound to his head inflicted while he was on the Ute Reservation in Utah…The issue of who fired the shot that killed Todd Murray was tried and is now ripe for resolution… The evidence shows that it is more likely than not that Mr. Murray died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Consistent with this factual finding, the plaintiffs cannot show that a federal crime was committed by any of the responding or investigating state or local officers. Because no federal crime was committed, Mr. Murray’s death is not compensable by the defendant under the Ute Treaty. Judgment will be entered in favor of the defendant.”
