Santa Barbara County Jail Inmate Charged with Murder After Victim’s Cause of Death is Classified as Homicide

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies have rebooked a Main Jail inmate on a murder charge over the death of another detainee. Authorities located James Edward Murphy unresponsive at the Northern Branch Jail earlier this month. A criminal investigation found that Peter James Anderson, 46, of Santa Barbara assaulted Murphy at the Main Jail on September 6.

Initially, Murphy did not report his injuries to the detention staff. Custody deputies learned of a possible assault after Anderson reported an injury to his hand. Deputies questioned how Anderson’s injury occurred and subsequently investigated to find Murphy with physical injuries. Murphy, who suffered from heart disease, was released from the hospital on September 8 after a two-day stay.

A court had ordered Murphy’s release to a placement facility, but that placement was still pending at the time of his discharge from the hospital. On September 10, Murphy was transferred to the Northern Branch Jail. Then on September 15, just before 2:15 p.m., a custody deputy conducting a routine check found Murphy unresponsive in his cell.

Custody deputies and medical staff began lifesaving measures and emergency responders continued those efforts. Murphy was pronounced deceased just before 1 p.m. On Thursday, coroner’s personnel conducted an autopsy on Murphy. The coroner’s bureau determined the cause of death was heart disease with blunt force trauma serving as a contributing factor. The coroner’s bureau classified Murphy’s cause of death as homicide.