Kiefer Had Drugs, Alcohol in System During August Murder/Suicide

A inquest Thursday revealed that the man who had marijuana and alcohol in his system at the time of the murder and subsequent suicide.

The coroner’s jury ruled the cause of death of Daniel Kiefer, 39, of Boulder Hill, to be suicide by a single gunshot to the mouth, according to Rob Sherwood, media relations officer who testified at the inquest. 

The woman, Brandi Jo Murphy, 38, of the 300 block of  Fox Chase Drive, had marijuana, alcohol and cocaine in her system at the time of her death, Sherwood confirmed. The jury ruled her cause of death a homicide from two gunshot wounds.

Sherwood said a total of three shots were fired with the first fatal bullet to Murphy coming to rest in a neighboring home.

The murder-suicide occurred at about 11:30 p.m. Aug. 17 in Murphy’s home. Neighbors reported hearing several gunshots and called 911.

When police arrived on the scene, they found Kiefer unresponsive in the attached garage, and Murphy also unresponsive in an adjoining doorway leading to the home.

Both were pronounced dead at the scene. 

The murder-suicide happened a little more than a year after Murphy received an order of protection against Kiefer after she said she had received threatening messages from him.

Kiefer previously had threatened to come to her workplace with a baseball bat and to kick her father in the knee, Murphy alleged in her request for the restraining order. But on Aug. 11, 2010, she wrote, he left her voicemail messages with sounds of a gun cocking and a text message referencing shotgun ammunition: “Brenneke KO Slug 2 34 inch.”

A few weeks later, Murphy asked the judge to lift the restraining order.

Kiefer then was arrested Nov. 13 for allegedly smacking Murphy in the face several times, grabbing her by the hair and slamming her head to the ground at his home in Boulder Hill, court records show. The misdemeanor domestic battery case was set for trial July 12, but the case was dropped that day when Murphy did not show up in court for the second time.