Overview
- Janina Brooke Murphy, 26, was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in a Burlington, Connecticut, home on March 29, and her death was initially investigated as suspicious.
- On June 23 the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Murphy’s cause of death to be blunt force injury to the head and classified the manner of death as a homicide.
- Authorities arrested 28-year-old Cole Werhan on June 24 and charged him with murder; he is being held on a $5 million bond and faces further court appearances.
- A 23-page arrest warrant says investigators found blood-like substances throughout the house, bruising on Murphy’s body, a smashed cellphone, and that Werhan told police she had struck herself and fallen down the stairs.
- Court filings show Werhan has prior domestic violence arrests and multiple women have since come forward with allegations against him, prosecutors called him an extreme danger to the community, and the Western District Major Crime Squad is leading an active investigation with follow-up hearings set for June 30.