Man accused in Break Time stabbing charged with four felonies
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Police Department announced the name of the man accused of stabbing a woman on Thursday night at the Break Time on Business Loop 70 in Columbia.
Murphy Hughes Jr., 69, of Columbia, was charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, tampering with evidence and unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court date has not been set.
Police responded to a call about an alleged assault before 7 p.m. Thursday at the Break Time. Police said on Thursday that two men were fighting in the parking lot. A woman then “got involved” and was stabbed by Hughes with a knife, police said.
The victim had serious injuries and was brought to an area hospital by a private vehicle, police say.
According to the probable cause statement, the woman was stabbed in her armpit. The statement also says all three people know each other. The statement says the woman told law enforcement that Hughes and her fiancé were in an argument about comments that were made earlier in the day.
The woman allegedly told law enforcement that she saw Hughes fall down during the fight and that she removed a knife Hughes was carrying in his backpack, and threw it in another direction, the statement says.
Hughes apparently found the knife and threw it at a vehicle that contained the woman and her fiancé, the statement says. She then allegedly got out of the car and Hughes stabbed her, court documents say. The fiancé gave the same statement to law enforcement, court documents show.
Video footage allegedly shows Hughes throwing the knife at the vehicle and walking out of view of the camera, the statement says. He then walks back into camera view with the knife, court documents say.
Court documents say Hughes initially denied having a knife, but then told law enforcement that he stabbed the woman after he was assaulted. Hughes allegedly told police that he did not know what happened to the knife and that it disappeared by “magic,” the statement says.
Court records show that Hughes also had a warrant for his arrest that was issued on Aug. 3, 2023, in Cooper County for failure to appear. In that case, he was charged with first-degree trespassing, a misdemeanor.
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