over on the wusa9 facebook page, a heated debate over karen murphy, that mother who left her two-year-old to die in the back of her minivan. murphy will serve no jail time and that struck you as insane. lisa writes, so, let's see. a person can go to work, leave a child to die and only get probation and community service. did i get that right? how do you have kids and forget them? karma will get her because she has not suffered enough. but, joe argues, the woman was guilty of making a tragic mistake. the commonwealth deemed it not necessary to jail her because of her contributions to the greater good and the fact it was a mistake. this is not enough for you vultures to accept the fact it was a tragic mistake and one she'll have to face for the rest of her life? you know what? i would note the prosecutor who is no softy thought murphy had suffered enough as well and favored this lighter sentence. and having accidentally killed her own child, that is a life sentence, i think harden criminals would take years of extra jail time to avoid. we never avoid your e-mail. the address, mailbag@wusa9.

. >> karen murphy cried continually. her body shaking in court today, lesli. she pleaded guilty to two counts of child neglect and that is bumped down from felony to misdemeanor because that way she will not lose her veterinarian license. stand next to me, lesli. so it bumped down to the misdemeanor, so she won't lose her veterinarian license and then the judge agreed to sentence her to 24 months all suspended and she walked out a free woman. >> karen murphy sobbed loudly after leaving the courtroom. her husband ushered her out the back door of the courthouse. she'll be on probation for three years and must do 400 hours of community service. but she will face no jail time in the death of her two-year- old child. >> you think she should have received jail time? >> absolutely. without question. to me, should have been a no doubter. >> i think it's terrible. i can understand how she would be upset and everything, but that's terrible. >> murphy had been indicted on felony murder and child neglect charges after leaving her toddler in her minivan all day. she forgot

karen murphy. >>> lap tops on the fritz? if your computer is fried, it could be your fault. the simple steps to keep it running smoothly. >>> plus, outrage from parents tonight when a department store markets shirts for kids with some questionable slogans. >>> we're talking lap tops tonight. if you think your lap top is to use in your lap think again. >> no, no. when it's running slowly, freezing up, it could be all your fault and the fault of your lap. not the computer. liz crenshaw is here to tell you how to avoid messing the thing up. >> hi there. you think lap top you think portable computer, convenience. experts say they're not meant to be moved around or used on your lap. geek support at best buy says half of all lap top troubles are caused by human error. how you handle it and where you use your lap top affects your computer's life span. >> they say on average the lap top should last you about three years. >> reporter: that's only if you care for your lap top properly. >> by not treating them properly we can actually damage parts prematurely and shorten the life span

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karen murphy a veterinarian to do community service. >> reporter: relatives shielded a distraught karen murphy as she left the courthouse after her tearful guilty plea to two counts of misdemeanor child neglect. >> dr. murphy accepted responsibility for her actions. the commonwealth accepted the plea deal entered today. it was a fair resolution of the case. >> reporter: the commonwealth attorney originally charged her with felony murder after her 2-year-old son was found dead in the family van last june. prosecutors say murphy had driven to work at an animal hospital with the toddler strapped into his car seat and didn't discover ryan until she came home later that afternoon. he died in the hot van. it was the second time murphy had forgotten to drop her son off at daycare. >> justice won't be served by making her go to penitentiary. if she is convicted after felony she'll lose her license to practice veterinary medicine and third i don't think it is possible to punish her more than she has been. >> reporter: under the plea she'll performed 400 hours of community service at the local an

. >> karen murphy pled guilty to child neglect charges today in court and faces six years of probation and must perform 600 hours of community service. last summer, the veterinarian for got her son in the backseat of her car and found him dead seven hours later. the court said she will punish herself for the rest of her life. >> gasoline prices are having an effect on president obama's popularity. two-thirds of americans polled by "the washington post" and abc news state he is not doing a good job in training and high gasoline prices. the national average is now $3.80 per gallon. we are one penny away from getting $4 in the district. i paid $4.26 yesterday. maryland is right along with the average. gas prices are up 30 cents from one month ago. still to come on abc7 news at 6:00, brighter news for young people who were waiting for their first job. >> see how donald trump was able to pull off the big contract for the pavilion. >> two key primaries in the south and presidential candidates are pulling out the stops including comedian jeff fox were the? >> i'm doug hill in the belfort and

karen murphy admitted to build this morning after the charge was reduced to misdemeanors child neglect. she originally faced felony murder charges for the data for two-year-old son. police say she left the toddler in the family minivan's seven hours in june where he died. the judge sentence her to two years of suspended jail time and 400 hours of community service. now a story that you will hear only 17,. see's party responding to allegations that protective gear kept in storage could have lessened the injuries of five city firefighters burned in a house fire. >> i don't know how much protection those shirts would provide beyond the outer shell of the gear they were wearing. >> i was burned from the fingertips all the way up my arms. my complete arms, both arms down my back. >> that is a critically injured firefighter saying that it could reduce his injuries. he claims that the crew never used a fire resistant shirts. the shirts were in storage because they had old department logos. on that tonight on abc 7 news at 5:00 from. anne arundel county authorities investigating another severe

veterinarian karen murphy left her toddler in it a hot van last july. charges were reduce and murphy pled guilty to misdemeanor child neglect charges. prosecutors agreed the death of the boy was an accident. >> i couldn't see that the felony would serve justice. she would not have, she wouldn't be able to practice medicine any more. we wouldn't be able to use her at the animal shelter. and to hut her -- to put her in the pen ten try or subject her to the penitentiary i don't feel was appropriate in there case. >> murphy did not receive jail time but still has to serve three years of probation and complete 400 hours of community service. >>> a university of maryland student is undergoing psychiatric evaluation after posting an online threat, promising to go on a shooting rampage at the school. campus police say the web message from 19-year-old alexander song claimed a shooting spree would kill enough people to make it national news. >> reporter: students returned to classes today shocked yet relieved. there is no longer a threat. >> i was very scared. i

. >> karen murphy sobbed loudly after leaving the courtroom. her husband ushered her out the back door of the courthouse after she was sentenced to six years probation and 400 hours of community service. she will face no jail time in the death of her two-year-old child. she and her husband found dead in the back of their minivan last june. >> i think she should have got more than that, but we do have flaws in our judicial system. >> that is murder. even if she -- she might need some professional help. >> murphy had been indicted on felony murder and child neglect charges. they were bumped down to two counts of misdemeanor child neglect so she could keep her vet license. >> dr. murphy made a terrible mistake with her child. that she wasn't a murder. sp i'm convinced knowing what i know about the case that she punished herself more than the law could ever do. >> thanks to peggy fox for that. in afghanistan, the taliban is vowing revenge after an american soldier allegedly went on a rampage killing 16 civilians. it happened sunday in villages. eli

karen murphy's 2-year-old son ryan was left strap in the car seat while murphy went to work last juner a plea deal, she pleaded guilty to two child neglect charges bumped from felonies to misdemeanors. the judge gave her probation and 400 hours of community service. >>> d.c. police arrested at least 16 people so far in an ongoing operation targeting people and businesses that sell stolen property, especially cell phones and other electronic ga jets. police showed off some of the stolen merchandise during a news conference. they served certainly warrants on at least 13 businesses across town and recovered more than 100 cell phones, 7 ipads and many other devices. that is not all they found. >> we deployed a variety packet that includes the deployment of plain clothessed and uniformed police officers, but we also used modern technology and good old-fashioned cash for kits to help us get where we are today. >> she also said thanks to the ongoing crack down, robberies dropped 15% in the past 30 days. >>> alabama and mississippi are on deck for their republican primaries tomorrow. rick san

karen murphy's 2-year-old son ryan was left strapped in a car seat while murphy went to work last june in bristow, virginia. she pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor child neglect charges. >>> 15 people are in custody in connection with a ongoing operation targeting people in businesses which sell stolen property. d.c. police showed off some of the stolen merchandise during a news conference last night. cathy lanier said officers served search warrants on at least 15 businesses and recalled more than 100 cell phones, seven ipads and many other devices. >>> it is 4:34. here's a look at some of the other things making news. lawyers for penn state assistant coach jerry sandusky were in court yesterday and they were asking for some specific information about where and when those alleged crimes took place. they also want the names of the people who were present or nearby at the time. they asked the judge to force prosecutors to turn over evidence before the trial starts in may. sandusky denies all of these allegations in this case and remains on home detention. >>> the wrongful death lawsuit a

prince william county police say karen murphy left her 2-year-old son in the back of the family minivan for more than seven hours. murphy's been charged with felony murder and child neglect. her attorneys argue this was simply a tragic accident. if convicted she could face up to 40 years in prison. >>> this morning d.c. police are on the lookout for a man and woman seen leaving a restaurant shooting in columbia heights. a witness tells news4 two men were argue being a woman when one pulled a gun and shot the other in the chest. this happened yesterday morning at the ihop on irving street and 14th in northwest washington. the victim was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. police have not released his identity. the restaurant was briefly closed while police interviewed witnesses. it has since reopened. >>> and the archdiocese of washington suspended the catholic priest who denied communion to a lesbian at her mother's funeral. the archdiocese placed father marcell glanismo on leave for "intimidating behavior toward parish staff and others." he serves at st. john newm

karen murphy accepted the plea deal and pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges. instead of jail time she will complete community service and serve six months probation. prosecutors agreed to the plea deal saying the pain over the loss of her son ryan was punishment enough. >>> the board of trustees at penn state says a failure of leadership led them to fire hall of fame football coach joe paterno. in a report today they say paterno could have done more when he learned about he an alleged case of sexual abuse involving a former assistant coach. a lawyer for the paterno family questioned the times of the report. he died in january, and former coach jerry sandusky is awaiting trial. he's charged with abusing ten boys over a period of 15 years. >>> a new measure to toughen child abuse laws in the district goes to the committee. the council held a public hearing to talk about the bill. it would expand the current city law to require everyone that witnesses sex abuse to report it. violators have to face a fine and have jail time. they s . >>> the next chapter in the ra

karen murphy accidentally left her son ryan in her minivan last june. she was sentenced to a year in jail suspended and six years probation, 400 hours community service. >>> in d.c. tonight 16 arrests just today in the city's stepped up effort to fight street thieves stealing iphones and gadgets. the chief announced an ongoing sting operations netted those arrests. more than 600 arrests have been made since january 1st. today they served 13 warrants on local businesses they say were selling the stolen goods and that's not all they found. >> we also found that these same businesses had no problem purchasing from strangers on the street items like baby formula and over the counter drugs and putting them on their shelves and selling them to the public. >> just in today's bust police recovered 100 cell phones, seven ipads, 11 other tablets and notebook computers, gps devices, cameras and playstations plus drugs like k2 spice and marijuana. >>> a story about an unusual crime wave in our area and around the country. police are trying to crack down on tide lau

karen murphy pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of child neglect for leaving her 2-year-old son in the back seat of the family minivan for more than seven hours in bristow, virginia, last june. murphy must complete 400 hours of community service and serve six years probation. prosecutors agreed to the deal saying that murphy's pain over the loss of her son ryan was punishment enough. >>> today a group of transit workers will rally against what they call d.c.'s mass transit crisis. metro workers, bus drivers, and union members say they're upset with proposed fare increases, delays, and station shutdowns. the group says they're also upset with congress for plans to let the commuter tax benefits expire. the tax credit gives federal employees a subsidy to pay for the public transit system. this morning's rally will start at 8:00 at the farragut north and farragut west metro stations. >>> a news4 exclusive. this morning the remains of a fallen marine are in his hometown of purcellville in loudoun county. captain michael quinn died when two military helicopters crashed in arizona late

karen murphy accidentally left, she says, her son ryan in her minivan last june were a prince william county judge sentenced murphy to a year in jail suspending all 12 months. he ordered her to serve six engineers probation and perform 400 hours of community service. >>> a marine pilot honored as a hero in his hometown. captain michael quin was killed in a helicopter crash last month. yesterday, a long procession of police, firefighters and supporters escorted him home to purcellville, virginia for the last time. his father is a volunteer firefighter in the town. >> the family is really strong. his father, brad, and his mother, betsy, are just very great people. the fact that this town has come around them has been help for us as well as for the family i'm sure. >> we respect those folks who put their lives on the line every day and regardless if they are in afghanistan or at home training, it is a dangerous world. >> michael quin was killed last no when two helicopters crashed over the arizona desert during a nighttime training mission. >>> a ferry packed with hundreds of people caps

karen murphy, the veterinarian from bristow, virginia, charged with leaving her two-year-old son in a minivan for several hours on a hot june day. murphy says she forgot to drop off the boy at daycare. he died. murphy's lawyers are calling it a tragic accident. prosecutors agree but say it wasn't the first time she had left the boy in the minivan. >>> the cost of your commute might actually go down. the senate approved restoring benefits as part of a massive transportation spending bill. democrats are hoping the house is going to follow suit. >>> today we are urging the house both democrats and republicans to take that same deduction that we passed in the senate for mass transit, put it into their highway bill and we can restore the deduction. next year and also retroactively. >>> the benefit allowed commuters to set aside a benefit for $230 for taxes. >>> the average price of gas in our region jumped 2 cents a gallon. dc area $3.85. up 24 cents from just a month ago. nationwide the average is now $3.80 a gallon. >>> jessica doyle is watching what little money we have left in your mon

karen murphy left 2-year-old ryan strapped in his car seat in her minivan for seven hours when she went to work during the summertime. the bristow woman originally faced child negligent charges but pleaded guilty to a couple misdemeanor charges. >>> disturbing new details about exactly what fairfax county police found last week inside a vacant home in alexandria. 9news now obtained the search warrant and learned they found an explosive device which had similarities to the kinds of bombs used by terrorists overseas. it was about 12 inches by 8 inches long with 12 red sill lynn cal -- sill behind cal devices inside. a cleaning crew found the device after being sent to the house by a realtor. so far no one has been charged. >>> just about 5:05 now. the maryland state senate has preliminary approval to a new antismoking bill. it would make it illegal to smoke if there's a child under 8 years old in the vehicle while you're driving. supporters say secondhand smoke is harmful to children of all ages. she also say it will be easy for police to monitor this because children under 8 are supposed

karen murphy pleaded guilty yesterday. she left her son lying in a minivan for hours on a hot day last june. prosecutors say it was an accident but it wasn't the first time she had left him in the car. murphy, a veterinarian will serve six years probation and she must complete 400 hours of community service. >>> we have a follow-up to a story we first told you about last week. an explosive device found in a fairfax county home could have caused some major damage. the home is on gilder street in the franconia neighborhood. inside that home police found an explosive device inside a box. now we've learned it was surrounded by nails and screws and had it gone off, it could have killed someone. the home is up for sale now and the owner lives in afghanistan. his son moved out of the home about six months ago. >>> police at university of maryland say three separate tipsters led them to 19-year- old andrew song, a south mother accused of threat -- sophomore accused of threatening to go on a shooting rampage at campus. police searc

prince william police say that karen murphy left her 2-year-old son in the back of the family minivane than seven hours. murphy has been charged with felony murder and child neglect. her attorneys argue that this was simply a tragic accident. if convicted, though, she faces up to 40 years in prison. >>> this morning investigators are trying to figure out what caused a brush fire in montgomery county. about 50 firefighters battled the fire in gaithersburg. it quickly spread to several acres. it was brought under control a short time later. no one was hurt. >>> d.c. mayor gray is coming under fair for how the administration is spending the district's money. the "washington post" reports that gray's administration has spent more than $1 million on public meetings and include more than $14,000 on a teleprompter and $5 on a speechwriter. he's held it 5 major city-sponsored events over the past year. >>> the leaders of virginia and maryland are making their voices heard on the presidential election. governor o'donnell and martin o'malley were guests on "meet the press" yesterday and clashed

karen murphy pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges of child neglect.he left her 2-year-old son in the back seat of the family minivan for more than seven hours last june. murphy must complete 400 hours of community service and serve six years' probation. prosecutors agreed to the plea deal saying murphy's pain over the loss of her son ryan was punishment enough. >>> d.c. police are stepping up their efforts to stop an increase of street robberies throughout the district. there are -- they are now going after a new target. police raided businesses that sold -- rather, that buy stolen iphones, ipads, and electronics and resell them. in a major undercover operation, police arrested two dozen people at 12 businesses that are suspected of selling stolen electronic devices. >> if you are in any way, shape, or form involved with the robberies, the breaking into cars, breaking into people's homes to steal items, to pass them along, to resell them or to fence them in any way, shape, or form, we are going to find you and arrest you. this is not going to stop. >>

. >> patricia murphy, karen hunter, thanks for coming on.se have led to rising questions over how extreme and divided the nation has become. and here's another instance. civil rights activists are outraged over this billboard. obviously it has a disturbing picture. and the line slaves obey your masters. and it was put up in a very racially diverse neighborhood in harris burg, pennsylvania. by an atheist group, that claims that the purpose of this is to show how evil the bible is. joe watkins is not only a former aide to president bush, but he's also pastor of the christ evangelical lutheran church in philadelphia. joe, good to see you. good morning. >> good to see you, always, chris. >> we should say the billboard was torn down after one day. now the pennsylvania human relations commission is investigating. one of the quotes was, if this had been detroit there would have been a riot. what's your reaction when you see this? >> it's very hurtful. very mean spirited. this was written in ad 62. the institution of slavery well predated u.s. slave