Woman convicted in Fall River ‘satanic cult’ murder granted parole

A woman who was convicted on second degree murder for her involvement with the Fall River “satanic cult” murders was granted parole on Monday by the state’s parole board, which deemed her release “compatible with the welfare of society.”

Robin Murphy, 61, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after she pleaded guilty to killing her girlfriend, Karen Marsden. Marsden’s murder was one of three high-profile murders purportedly carried out by members of a satanic cult in Fall River in 1979 and 1980. 

This was Murphy’s eighth time before the parole board. The board most recently denied her release in 2022 before agreeing to parole her on Monday. She will be released two weeks from the decision date to a long-term residential program but “not before District Attorney clearance,” according to the Board’s decision. 

Murphy, who was 17 at the time of Marsden’s killing, was released on parole in 2004. She was returned to custody in 2011 for a parole violation. 

State Representative Alan Silvia, a former police detective who worked on the murder cases, and a representative from the Bristol County District Attorney’s office spoke against Murphy’s release at a March 5 parole hearing, The Fall River Herald News reported. Despite this, parole was granted because Murphy has undergone a “significant amount of programming” to address her “trauma history, victim empathy, emotional wellbeing, and addiction,” according to the board’s decision. 

Murphy also earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and remained engaged in the Vet Dogs program during her years behind bars, the board wrote. 

“She recognizes the issues that resulted in her return to custody, has actively addressed those issues in custody, and will continue to do so in the community,” the decision reads. “She is willing to try and rectify the harm she has caused.”

DA: Murphy committed “brutal murder”

But Bristol County D.A. Thomas Quinn said he was “very disappointed” in the board’s decision. 

“This was a brutal murder. The defendant has previously violated parole, and repeatedly lied in court proceedings and to the parole board,” Quinn said in a statement to Boston.com “She still does not accept the responsibility for her role in the murder of Karen Marsden, who was decapitated.”

Silvia did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon, but told The Herald News that he hopes “she’s not coming to Fall River.”

Murphy retracted her testimony in 1985 and has maintained her innocence in the case since then. In her last parole hearing in 2022, she said she had lied about her role in the killings so that the other two people involved, Carl Drew and Andrew Maltais, would go to prison, The Herald News reported at the time.

The parole board has said in past decisions denying parole that it was “concerned” about her lies.

“Ms. Murphy acknowledges that her history of dishonesty has been a barrier to her release,” the recent decision reads. “She acknowledges that, due to her pattern of dishonesty, many people have been harmed.”

Drew is serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in Marsden’s killing. Maltais died in prison while serving a life sentence without possibility of parole for the murder of Barbara Raposa. No one has been convicted for the murder of Doreen Levesque, the third victim. 

Murphy will have a curfew of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. and GPS monitoring for 90 days and is required to have mental health counseling for codependency, according to the decision.

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