Cooper County man pleads guilty to racially motivated crime

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Wooldrige man pleaded guilty last week to a felony charge of racially motivated harassment.

Perry G. Murphy, 56, pleaded guilty to a single charge of harassment motivated by discrimination, a Class D felony in Missouri. Murphy is the husband of Wooldridge Mayor Kelly Murphy.

Perry Murphy was accused of yelling death threats and racial slurs at his neighbors on Nov. 10, 2021, from his home on Granvel Boulevard. A sheriff's deputy wrote in a probable cause statement that Murphy said he threatened his neighbors and used racial slurs because he was drunk and upset.

Murphy had been scheduled to go to trial next week.

Sentencing is set for Feb. 8 in Boonville after a sentencing assessment report is written.