Woman charged with attempted murder after attack on Fayette County Jail officer

WEST UNION — A woman was charged with attempted murder after she attacked a detention officer in the Fayette County Jail in West Union on Monday, according to a news release from Fayette County.

Jeannie Marie Murphy, 48, is also charged with assault on persons in certain occupations, a felony, and fifth degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. She was in the jail after being arrested on Jan. 4 on a charge of domestic abuse.

On Jan. 4, police were called to an address in Oelwein for a report of domestic abuse. A man told police that he’d been sleeping on the couch and woke to Murphy staring at him, wearing plastic gloves and carrying a bottle. She reportedly threw a liquid on him that she told him was acid. She told police that she made the liquid out of salt, water, beef broth, molasses, and other ingredients, and that she genuinely believed it was acid that would cause burning, according to a criminal complaint.

The complaint didn’t state what the relationship was between Murphy and the man, but it did list them as living at the same address in Oelwein. The criminal complaints against Murphy for the attack on the correctional officer listed a different address for her, in Cedar Rapids.

That attack happened in the jail after Murphy damaged the sprinkler system in her cell, according to a criminal complaint.

The correctional officer was attempting to move her to a different cell, in order to check the sprinkler system, but Murphy refused to move and attacked the officer. She reportedly knocked the officer over and hit the officer multiple times in the head with her fists and with the officer’s body camera, causing a painful lump to form on the officer’s head. The officer was later found to have a concussion.

The officer managed to use a taser on Murphy, but Murphy continued to attack and took the handcuffs off the officer’s belt. A sheriff’s deputy was called and was able to help control Murphy and force her into a jail cell.

Murphy had her first appearance on the attempted murder charge Tuesday, and is now being held in the jail on a $25,000 cash or surety bond, in addition to the $2,000 cash bond she already had for the domestic abuse charge.

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