Newspaper Reporting: Crime & Courts – Sarah Johnson Double Murder Trial

In 2005, a 16-year old Idaho girl was charged with using a high-powered hunting rifle to murder her mother and father.To ensure a fair jury, the trial was moved from the small town of Bellevue where the family lived, to Boise.The Twin Falls Times-News was seeking daily coverage of the trial but couldn’t spare sending a reporter to Boise for 6 weeks. So, they contracted with Patti Murphy to report on the trial. The trial was covered by national media such as 20/20, Dateline, and Court TV. Murphy reported daily on the trial and filed more than 50 articles. She ultimately won a First Place Award for Crimes and Courts reporting from the Idaho Press Club. She also has been interviewed by several national television network shows regarding the trial, including “Snapped,” for the Oxygen network; “Solved” for the Discovery network, and “To Young To Kill,” for the E! Entertainment Network. Below are some of Murphy’s articles in PDF format: