Michael Murray

> "I can't. I gotta get the truck back!"
>
>

> -Michael explaining why he can't stop blubbering like a six year old.
>
>

**Michael Alan Murray** is a suspected predator involved in the Ocean County, New Jersey edition of **To Catch a Predator**. He is most memorable for stopping by during Jeremy Keister's interrogation.

## Biography

Michael Murray, who was 44 years old at the time of the sting, engaged in online conversations with a decoy he believed to be a 13-year-old girl named "Michelle". In an attempt to deceive her, Murray lied about his age, claiming to be 32 years old. Despite living only six minutes away from the sting house, Murray quickly steered the conversation towards romance, dating, and ultimately, sex. After chatting with the decoy for two and a half hours, Murray decided to go to the house for a dinner from McDonald's, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity.

### Confrontation

Upon arriving at the sting house, Murray encountered Chris Hansen already in the midst of a conversation with Jeremy Keister. 18-year-old actress and decoy Casey Mauro ushered Murray inside, who was seen carrying a bag of McDonald's food and sporting a smile on his face. However, upon entering, he was met with Hansen, who invited him to sit down and join the conversation. Murray attempted to feign ignorance and asked what was going on, not fully comprehending the situation. Despite some brief dialogue, Murray ultimately left while Keister remained silent throughout the interaction. As Murray exited the premises, he was apprehended by the police who took him to the ground, causing him to drop his McDonald's bag. He was audibly heard crying and being patted down, with officers attempting to calm him down, to no avail. Murray claimed he couldn't stop crying because he "had to get the truck back". The sounds of his arrest and emotional outburst were captured on the recordings from Keister's perspective.

## Aftermath

After being arrested, Murray was initially charged with one count of attempted sexual assault, which was a second-degree felony, and one count of luring, which was also a second-degree felony. If convicted, he could have faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. In June 2008, a group of defense attorneys brought the relationship between the Prosecutor's Office and Dateline NBC's To Catch a Predator to the attention of a judge. Following this, Murray was presented with a plea deal and ultimately pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempting to endanger the welfare of a child, a third-degree felony. Although Murray was not sentenced to prison, he was ordered to serve lifetime parole and register as a sex offender for life.

## Trivia

* If Murray stayed, this would have been the second instance of Chris interviewing two suspected predators at once, the first time being with Safraz Khan and Yazan Asfour. However, it was the second time two suspected predators were in the trap house at the same time.
* Murray is presumably classified as a Level 1 (low risk) sex offender in the state of New Jersey. State law only allows Level 2 and 3 (medium and high risk) sex offenders' information to be public knowledge.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/nj-28-arrested-in-sexual-predator-sting.48262/
2. ↑ https://www.nj.com/news/2008/06/two\_men\_plead\_guilty\_in\_mantol.html
3. ↑ https://dairystatedegenerates.blogspot.com/2021/03/to-catch-predator-update-ocean-county.html
4. ↑ http://www.perverted-justice.com/?con=cuteguyinoc2002