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Parolee Convicted In Murder Of Peekskill Cabdriver

PEEKSKILL, N.Y. -- A 62-year-old man was convicted Thursday, April 17, in the murder of Terry Camper, a Peekskill cabdriver.

John Murray was convicted in the murder of a Peekskill cabdriver.

John Murray was convicted in the murder of a Peekskill cabdriver.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Janet DiFiore

John Murray was convicted of first-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore said.

Beatrice Camper, Camper's wife and Murray's co-conspirator, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, according to DiFiore, and will be sentenced in June.

In October 2012, a postal worker observed a gray Mercury Marquis parked in the area of 118 Pine St. facing the wrong direction. She observed the driver was not moving and called 911. On arrival first responders immediately recognized the driver as Terry Camper, known to them as a local cabdriver, DiFiore said. 

First responders observed that Terry Camper had blood dripping from the left side of his head behind his ear.  Camper was transported to Hudson Valley Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, DiFiore said.

Peekskill police initiated a wide-ranging investigation. Numerous interviews were conducted along with extensive forensic analysis.

Beatrice Camper was interviewed by detectives, and based on various sources and information, Peekskill police set up surveillance on Murray’s home, and he was taken into custody, DiFiore said.

Search warrants were executed at the residences of both Murray and Camper, according to DiFiore. 

While Murray was in state prison awaiting parole for two unrelated murders committed in 1977, he began to plan the murder of Camper, DiFiore said. Murray used the prison telephones to gather information on his intended victim. Throughout his planning, he and Beatrice Camper had numerous telephone conversations, DiFiore said.

“An ongoing affair between a prison inmate and the scheming wife of the deceased culminated in a plan to collect her husband’s life insurance money. Their scheme ultimately unraveled, leaving a decent, hardworking man murdered and the defendant now facing the rest of his life in prison,” said DiFiore.

Murray, who faces a maximum sentence of life without parole, will be sentenced in June. 

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