DUBLIN — A Livermore man has been sentenced to seven years in state prison for killing his brother after an ongoing conflict over the electricity bill reached a boiling point.
Jeffrey Murray, 58, pleaded no contest to manslaughter in the 2019 shooting death of 50-year-old Todd Murray. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped a murder charge against him. He was sentenced to seven years on Sept. 28, but with credit for good behavior could be released within a year.
Jeffrey Murray remains in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, records show.
Murray shot his brother with a shotgun during a heated argument at his Livermore ranch on Feb. 23, 2019. According to witness testimony at the preliminary hearing, Murray allowed his brother to live in a mobile home on the property and ran an electricity line to it, but the PG&E bill would be sent to him each month.
Witnesses said Murray became increasingly irate with his brother over rising electricity costs, then turned off the power. Murray later told police that his brother became extremely upset, threatened to “kill” Murray and his “whole family” and chest bumped him. Police testified that Murray retrieved the shotgun and fired at his brother, shortly after he screamed “shoot me,” and began to walk away.
Arguments over home maintenance rarely turn deadly, but Alameda County has seen one other recent murder case with a similar motive. In 2021, Oakland resident Markus Mcglothen, 32, shot and killed his roommate, Patrick Lynch, after the two spent the day sending “passive-aggressive” texts to each other about household chores. Like Murray, Mcglothen pleaded no contest to a lesser felony — unlawful firearm activity — received a three-year prison term, and was released earlier this year, court records show.
Defense attorney Ernie Castillo, who represented Murray, said his client is eager to “close the legal chapter of this tragic situation.”
“With this case now closed, the family feels it can now begin the process of putting the pieces of their family history back together and soon welcome Jeff back home to the cattle community,” Castillo said. “This case endured a long and bumpy road but we are happy this is over.”