Bio

Mario Benjamin Murphy was a Mexican national who was 19 years old at the time of the murder of James L. Radcliff in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Murphy became involved in the case through Gary Hinojosa, who was having a relationship with James Radcliff’s wife, Robin Radcliff. Hinojosa approached Murphy with an offer to kill James Radcliff for about $5,000. Murphy had not known the victim before the plot. The original plan was for Robin Radcliff to pretend that her car had broken down so that James would come to help her, giving Murphy an opportunity to shoot him. That first plan failed when James did not arrive.

After the failed plan, Murphy returned to Hinojosa’s home. Hinojosa then suggested staging a burglary at the Radcliff apartment and killing James while he was inside. Murphy agreed and recruited two others, Aaron Turner and James Hall, to help carry out the killing.

Murder Story

On July 28, 1991, Mario Benjamin Murphy, Aaron Turner, and James Hall prepared to enter the Virginia Beach apartment of James and Robin Radcliff. Robin helped the plan by showing Murphy where she and James lived, identifying James’s car, and telling Murphy which bedroom James would be sleeping in. That night, Murphy, Turner, and Hall dressed in dark clothing and armed themselves with a metal pipe and two knives.

The men entered the apartment through a back bedroom window that Robin had left unlocked and partly open. Robin walked out of the bedroom as the men entered the hallway. Turner first struck James Radcliff in the head with the pipe while James was asleep. When James sat up, Turner handed the pipe to Murphy, who struck James in the head at least twice. Murphy and Turner then stabbed James, while Hall also struck him with the pipe.

After the attack, the men removed a videocassette recorder and a video game from the apartment to make the crime appear to be a burglary. They left through the same window and later disposed of clothing, weapons, and stolen items in the Chesapeake Bay. Police were called at 2:29 a.m. on July 29, 1991, after Robin went to a neighbor claiming that intruders had broken into the apartment. James Radcliff was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead at 4:08 a.m.

Murphy later confessed to killing James Radcliff. He pleaded guilty to capital murder for hire and conspiracy to commit capital murder. The court sentenced him to death for the murder and added a 20-year sentence for the conspiracy conviction. The Virginia Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence.

Murphy later argued in federal court that Virginia authorities had violated his rights under the Vienna Convention by failing to inform him that he could contact the Mexican consulate. The Fourth Circuit dismissed his appeal, ruling that the claim did not qualify as a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.

Mario Benjamin Murphy was executed by lethal injection in Virginia on September 17, 1997. He was 25 years old. Reports of his final words state that he said, “Today is a good day to die,” and “I forgive all of you. I hope God does too.”