The lead investigator in the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office, who spent years investigating capital murder cases, was charged in the stabbing death of his wife. He remained in custody Monday.
Jimmy Spurger, 54, was ordered held on $150,000 bond on a charge of murder after his arrest Friday in the death of Maria Spurger, 53, according to Dallas County Jail records and a police news release.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit in the case, a request was made to Dallas Fire Rescue for a welfare check call at the couple’s apartment in Dallas.
When no one answered the door after several knocks, Dallas Fire Rescue forced open the apartment’s door, but had to clear furniture blocking the front door to be able to fully open it, according to the affidavit.
“DFR found Complainant Maria Spurger who was unresponsive and lying on the couch with what appeared to be a knife lodged in her neck,” the affidavit states.
The responders then found Jimmy Spurger sitting on the bed in the bedroom, but he did not respond to their questions about his well being, the document states.
They left the apartment and called police, who later found Maria Spurger covered in blood on the couch, the affidavit states.
Police found a small knife next to Jimmy Spurger and multiple blood-covered, empty pill bottles in the kitchen, according to the affidavit.
The police investigation determined Maria Spurger had been stabbed by “a known suspect,” a police statement said. Spurger was taken to the hospital and was unable to be immediately interviewed because of the many pills he had ingested, the affidavit states.
Clay Jenkins, the county judge and its chief elected official, said in a social media post that he had ordered Spurger suspended.
NBC News reached out to the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office, which said a statement from the office was pending.
Dallas County court records show Jimmy Spurger had petitioned for divorce last month. The couple were married 35 years.
Spurger had been in his position as investigative division supervisor for 11 months and worked with the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office for more than 13 years, according to his biography on the public defender’s website. The biography had been removed as of Monday.
The majority of his time with the office was in the capital murder division, “where he conducted fact and mitigation investigations for some of the most complex and serious criminal cases handled by the office,” the biography states. It further said his experience includes investigating guilt-innocence issues and developing mitigation evidence.
He spent more than 20 years in law enforcement, specializing in homicide investigations and crimes against persons, according to the biography. He also served with the Dallas County district attorney’s office in the child abuse and family violence division, the biography states.
If you or someone you know is facing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence hotline for help at (800) 799-SAFE (7233), or go to www.thehotline.org for more. States often have domestic violence hotlines as well.
