Victim of Horrific Crime 10 Years Ago Shares Her Story
Image by: Mike di Donato/KTVB
Ten years ago, Alfoa Time decapitated his wife in Nampa Idaho and then drove with her head toward Boise. Time then crashed his pickup head-on into another vehicle in an attempt to kill himself. The crash killed a 36-year-old mother and her 4-year-old daughter in the other vehicle. An 8-year-old in the vehicle, Sydnee Murphy, survived and is sharing her story.
KTVB Reports:
The car crash happened 10 years ago today, on June 15, 2006.
“I remember it was just an ordinary day,” said Sydnee.
Eight-year-old Sydnee, her 36-year-old mother, Samantha Murphy, and 4-year-old sister, Jaelynne Grimes, were on their way to day care.
“I was sitting in the front seat. We were driving, listening to the radio, talking, laughing,” said Sydnee.
And then in a second her life, forever changed.
“I looked over … and saw that my mom was gone. It was really vivid in my picture. She had a tear, it was blood on her chin, not her chin, but her cheek. And then I looked behind and saw my sister,” said Sydnee.
Sydnee’s mom and sister were killed by the impact.
“I started screaming. And finally some man came and got the door opened because it was jammed,” said Murphy.
Boise police officer Alan Cavener was one of the first to respond. While other officers were helping Sydnee, Cavener made a gruesome discovery.
“When I pulled up here on Franklin at the crime scene, I saw that there was a head on the road there,” said Cavener. “Originally I thought it was a mannequin so I knelt down beside it and it was a human head. And so there again, to begin with, we thought it was a decapitation from a bad traffic accident, but then it became apparent really quickly that it was not.”
Alofa Time of Nampa had beheaded his wife at their home. He had the head with him, driving erratically down Franklin Road when he deliberately crashed into Sydnee’s family in an effort to kill himself.
Cavener calls it one of the most horrific cases of his career.
“Keep in mind. We thought we had a traffic accident,” said Cavener. “The reality was we had two homicides and two different crime scenes and actually three victims in this case.”
Sydnee survived with a broken arm.
“My grandmother tells me that God has a plan for you,” said Sydnee. “I don’t believe her sometimes, I’m like whatever, why didn’t He take me? I’m glad that I did live so that I can be here today, that I can say that I did make my mom proud of what I’ve done.”
Samantha Murphy’s little girl grew up to be a beautiful rodeo queen. She’s been a winner of multiple 4-H and rodeo competitions, and just last month, she graduated from high school and is already attending classes at CWI.
And with her along the way, to celebrate the milestones, the birthdays, and special events, the two Boise police officers first on scene 10 years ago, Steve Phan and Alan Cavener.
“She’s a survivor number one,” said Cavener. “She’s a true victim of crime, violent crime. With all the obstacles she was dealt early in life she’s done a really good job of moving forward and I think she’s going to have a real successful future and I’m just real proud of her for doing that. Oftentimes when people become victims, they never ever move forward.”
“I’ve gotten through high school, I’m getting through college, well part of it, I’m getting there,” said Murphy. “I’ve done all these good accomplishments with my horses and dogs.”
Sydnee believes it was in fact God’s plan, that she survived for a reason – to show others they, too, can overcome tragedy.
