Suspect arrested in cold case drive-by killings of Compton 2-year-old girl and young father

LOS ANGELES - A suspect is behind bars Friday for his in connection with the 2001 drive-by Compton killings of a 24-year-old man and his 2-year-old daughter, who investigators said were innocent victims of a gang war.

Jahon Smith, 47, was arrested Monday in connection with the Aug. 8, 2001, killings of Stephen Murphy and his daughter Kali, who were shot in 13100 block of Willowbrook Ave. Murphy was shot on the front porch of his grandmother's house as he tried to carry his daughter to safety when he heard the gunfire erupt, officials said.

According to District Attorney George Gascón, Smith was charged Wednesday with two counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder. The charges include a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders and an allegation of personal use of a handgun.

His arraignment at the Compton courthouse was postponed until Nov. 29, according to court records.

Gascón said Smith faces a possible sentence of life in prison without parole.

Investigators declined to release extensive details about the evidence that led to Smith's arrest. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau Lt. Hugo Reynaga said last month that modern DNA testing was being done on evidence that was collected 22 years ago that they believed would lead investigators to a suspect in the Murphys' killings.

Officials said earlier that Murphy and his daughter were visiting his grandmother, and Murphy was getting ready to put his daughter in the back seat of his car when the gunfire erupted. 

Murphy tried to run into the house with his daughter in his arms, but he was shot on the front porch. The girl was struck in the head with a bullet and died at a hospital, sheriff's officials said.

Reynaga said during a September news conference to renew public interest in the case that Murphy and his daughter were simply "in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they were an accident to the killers who were out there trying to commit murder."

Reynaga reiterated Friday that the shooting was one in a series that occurred over the course of two nights as the result of an apparently ongoing gang war at the time. He said the crime spree began the previous night, Aug. 7, 2001, when 22-year-old Richard Lawrence was fatally shot in the 2000 block of North Grape Avenue in Compton.

Witnesses provided a basic description of two male suspects in the crime, and sheriff's officials released artist renderings in hopes of generating tips from the public. Reynaga said the suspects in that shooting were driving a gray Chevrolet Caprice.

The following night, five separate drive-by shootings occurred in about five minutes, in what Reynaga said were believed to be retaliation for the killing of Lawrence.

The shootings began in the 13300 block of Largo Avenue, where a victim suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds to the head and shoulder, Reynaga said. A short time later, a non-injury shooting occurred in the 2300 block of Lucien Street.

Murphy and his daughter were killed in the third shooting of the night.

Another shooting occurred a short time later in the 2000 block of West 131st Street, where a 15-year-old boy suffered a graze wound to the head, Reynaga said. After that, a sheriff's deputy was shot at, but was not struck, in the 1900 block of North Anzac Avenue.

Reynaga said the gold Oldsmobile Cutlass the suspects were driving was later seized by deputies, but no arrests were immediately made. Evidence collected from that car underwent DNA testing, according to Reynaga.

Relatives of Stephen and Kali Murphy attended the September news conference to also urge anyone with information to come forward.

"Steven was an awesome son, a loving father, a loving son, a loving brother," one said. "Never had any trouble. He always saw the good in everyone. He was not affiliated with any gang members. He worked hard every day. He was a good employee (at Los Angeles International Airport).

"... His friends still contact me and talk to me til this very day. ... He had good friends, a loving family. And Kali was only 2 years old so you know she was innocent."