Triple-murder suspect Roy Murry’s attorney says evidence lacking

The attorney for triple-murder suspect Roy Murry says there’s not enough evidence to convict him of shooting his in-laws and their son last year, then burning their bodies at their home in Colbert.

Murry, 31, has been in jail since his arrest in May and faces aggravated murder and arson charges in the deaths of Lisa Canfield, her husband, Terry Canfield, and Lisa Canfield’s son, John Constable. He has also been charged with attempted murder for allegedly planning to kill his estranged wife.

His trial is scheduled to start May 23 and expected to last six weeks, Judge Michael Price said Tuesday during a court hearing.

Murry is represented by Spokane County’s public defender, Tom Krzyminski, and Jill Gannon-Nagle. They plan to argue there’s not enough evidence to link Murry to the killings, Krzyminski said Tuesday. He said the gasoline used to start the fire and other physical evidence from the scene doesn’t point back to Murry.

“From what we’ve seen of the evidence, it doesn’t point to Roy,” he said.

Police suspected Murry when his estranged wife told investigators he was the only person who would want to do her parents harm, according to court documents. Krzyminski said that early focus led police to eliminate other potential suspects from consideration.

The state has the burden of proof, and Krzyminski said he believes he’ll be able to challenge their evidence enough to introduce reasonable doubt. He said he wanted to take the case to trial. Neither side has made a plea deal offer.

Murry’s attorneys filed an unsuccessful motion last year to dismiss charges against him, saying there wasn’t probable cause to hold him on the murder charges. Earlier this year, they petitioned for Murry to be released on his own recognizance, listing a Walla Walla release address. Price ruled against the motion in February, saying Murry had substantial knowledge of survival skills from his time in the military and was likely to evade capture if released.

Murry is an Iraq War veteran who came home with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, court documents say. He was receiving a disability pension from Veterans Affairs prior to his arrest.

A pool of 150 to 200 potential jurors has been selected from an initial group of more than 300 who were notified. Jury selection and pretrial motions are expected to occupy the first two weeks of the trial, with testimony scheduled to begin June 6, Price said. The state has listed nearly 150 witnesses it plans to call at trial, including dozens of police officers and deputies from Spokane, Lewiston, Moscow, Pullman and Bonner County. Anticipating intense public interest in the trial, Price said cellphones would be barred from the courtroom for members of the public and media. The jury likely will be barred from leaving the courthouse during lunch, he said.