Sex offender found dead in his home
By DEANNA BOYD
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

MICHAEL G. MURRAY
FORT WORTH -- A woman who was concerned that she had not heard from her ex-husband went to his west Fort Worth home Wednesday night and discovered him dead, face down on the floor, police said.

Patrol officers called to the home in the 4100 block of Shadow Drive, not far from Ridglea Country Club, initially thought that Michael G. Murray, 40, had committed suicide because his arm was apparently cut and because of problems in his life, including a recent petition to revoke his probation. Murray was a registered sex offender.

But when homicide detectives and investigators from the Tarrant County medical examiner's office turned over the body, they saw that his throat had been cut, said Lt. Dean Sullivan, a Fort Worth police spokesman.

"That did not appear, in any way, to be a self-inflicted wound," Sullivan said.

The house showed no signs of forced entry, but there were indications of burglary or robbery, Sullivan said, and Murray's 2004 Chevrolet Tahoe was missing.

Police later found that the Tahoe had been impounded two days earlier after officers pulled over a 24-year-old man driving the SUV in the 5600 block of Wellesley Avenue shortly after 1 a.m. Monday.

As the officer approached the Tahoe, he saw the driver hide something between the seat and console, Sullivan said. When the officer ordered the man to show his hands, the driver pulled the officer into the open window and tried to drive off, Sullivan said.

The officer put the SUV in park and broke off the key. The driver tried to run away but was caught and shocked with a Taser after he continued to be combative, Sullivan said.

Officers found drug paraphernalia and what they suspect is crack cocaine inside the Tahoe.

Police tried to contact Murray to tell him that his SUV had been found, but they couldn't reach him.

Investigators are questioning the man found driving the Tahoe about Murray's death, Sullivan said. No official action has been taken against him, he said.

The driver remained in the Mansfield Jail on Thursday afternoon charged with aggravated assault of a public servant and evading arrest.

Tarrant County court records show that Murray was placed on 10 years' deferred adjudication probation in March for fondling a 15-year-old girl.

He was arrested in June after prosecutors filed a petition to revoke his probation. Prosecutor Christy Jack said the motion was filed after a surprise search of Murray's home, which was allowed under his probation terms, uncovered sexually explicit material including a magazine, DVD and images, and found indications that Murray had accessed a prohibited Web site.

Murray was released from the Tarrant County Jail on June 13 on $5,000 bail with conditions that included no contact with minors and no computer access, court records show.