A man once dubbed “America’s kindest husband” for making a gushing, 15-point list of reasons he loved his wife is now suspected of murdering her after he was jailed for life for a shocking crime against a teen, according to the slain woman’s family and loved ones.
Timothy Murphy-Johnson, 40, went viral for writing loving messages on his bedroom mirror so they would be seen by his wife, Molly, before she died in 2017 of what was initially suspected to be a drug overdose during a breakdown.
But Murphy-Johnson was given a life sentence last month for drugging and holding a 16-year-old girl captive — and Molly’s family believe there are eerie similarities with her death, the Times of London reported.
Murphy-Johnson, a UK-born computer game designer, met Molly on the online dating site OK Cupid in 2012 — but her friends and family quickly became skeptical of their relationship following her death.
Before she died, Molly had allegedly disclosed to friends that her husband had raped her and forced her into prostitution as part of an abusive and manipulative marriage, they say.
He reportedly threatened to kill his wife with an overdose and stage it as a suicide, Molly had also claimed in a court filing obtained by the outlet.
“He threatened to kill me (and make it look like a suicide) … physically assaulted me by kicking my back/stomach, punching my head/arms, pushing me down and stealing my purse, money and phone to prevent me getting away,” the court doc read.
Molly wound up withdrawing the application.
“I believe Tim either provided her with drugs or forced her to take them,” Molly’s childhood friend Anna-Marie Anderson told the outlet. “She was brilliant, extremely educated on medication and drugs, and in my opinion, she would not go out that way.”
Molly’s loved ones believe Murphy-Johnson manipulated her as she had gone from completing her degree in mass communications at San Jose State University and enrolling for a master’s degree to dropping out and moving to San Francisco for her husband’s job.
The loving father said his daughter had twice asked him to “rescue her” from her husband despite her seeming devotion to him.
“Molly was a bright, beautiful and talented young woman,” her father, Bob Gelman, told the UK Times.
The couple moved to Los Angeles when Murphy-Johnson got another job, but Molly disappeared when she checked herself into a mental hospital in an attempt to get away from her husband.
Molly was forced to quit her job when she could no longer cover her cuts and bruises.
“Sadly Tim managed to sweet-talk her into returning to him,” Gelman said. “She told me he was pimping her out — having her have sex with other men for money.”
Friends investigating Murphy-Johnson’s abuse discovered she appeared in sexually explicit images on several adult content websites and was advertised as an “escort,” “naughty nerd” and “college-educated Mensa member,” the society for people with high IQs.
Molly photographed the bruises she sustained and told her friends she wanted a divorce but was threatened by her husband.
“He [Murphy-Johnson] just offered me some drug that will kill me, so I can get it over with already … guess I’ll just make it easier for us both,” she wrote to one friend.
Molly was discovered dead inside her bedroom on Dec. 16, 2017, with her death being ruled an overdose.
Murphy-Johnson announced his wife’s death in a post to Facebook.
“My wife, my best friend, the most amazing gorgeous beautiful, troubled soul I’ve ever known passed away from mental illness on Saturday morning hours after being discharged from a mental health service that failed her.”
One of Molly’s ex-boyfriends claimed to her father that Murphy-Johnson tried to have her cremated immediately but “insisted on there being an autopsy.”
The report did not have a response from Murphy-Johnson or his lawyers.
However, one of his family members dismissed the allegations that he could be involved in his wife’s death as “baseless.”
“Molly had a serious drug addiction to fentanyl, as well as depression and a history of suicide attempts. Tim saved her life on more than one occasion … so I don’t believe he killed her,” the unidentified relative told the UK paper.
“To be frank, they both thought the other was trying to kill them. It was chaos. It was a sad, toxic mess, two people with deadly drug addictions and mental illness for one terrible relationship,” the relative said.
“He did love her very much and her death is what led to him descending into madness. I can’t make excuses for anything Tim has done. I believe he suffers from serious mental health issues,” the relative said.
“Of course if there is any evidence to back up a claim [that Murphy-Johnson was involved in Molly’s death], then it should obviously be sent to the authorities.”
