Marissa man pleads guilty to setting house on fire, gets 10 years

He admitted Friday that he lit a Marissa home on fire, then a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

There were other suspicious fires in Marissa around the same time, but that stopped when Brandon Murphree, 22, of Marissa, was arrested, said St. Clair County Sheriff Rick Watson, whose department investigated the fires along with the Marissa Police Department and the Illinois Fire Marshal’s Office.

“Arsons are always tough cases to investigate,” Watson said. “These guys worked hard and built their case. They really deserve an ‘attaboy’ for this one.”

Watson wouldn’t say whether he suspects Murphree was responsible for the other five fires in Marissa. Murphree pleaded guilty to setting only the fire that destroyed Larry Kunkle’s house at 301 S. Park Street in Marissa, which occurred on Jan. 21, 2015. At the time, Murphree knew someone who lived at the Kunkle house, according to police. Prosecutors said Murphree had a dispute with a younger male person who was staying at the home.

The Kunkles agreed with this sentence, St. Clair County state’s Attorney Brendan Kelly said.

“This was a frightening crime for folks in Marissa, and law enforcement responded as a team,” Kelly said. “There was a series of arsons around the time and because arsonists often commit copycat crimes after other arsons, investigators had to avoid a few red herrings and look at each fire case by case.”

Sheriff’s Capt. Scott Weymouth, who heads investigations, said the Marissa Police Department asked the sheriff’s department for help investigating the fires.

“Investigator Jeff Hartsoe spent numerous hours conducting interviews leading to the arrest,” Weymouth said.

Murphree was arrested on Feb. 12, 2015, about three weeks after the fire. He was charged with three counts of aggravated arson. Those charges were dismissed after Murphree pleaded guilty to residential arson.

The other fires remain under investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Kelly and Assistant State’s Attorney Debbie Phillips. Circuit Judge Zina Cruse presided over the case.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Marissa man pleads guilty to setting house on fire, gets 10 years."