Astra's OCS - Criminal Case

Will Murphy

Once he graduated high school, Will moved on to pursue a degree in filmmaking. Afterwards, he travelled the world filming documentaries about people and their customs. He kept in contact with his family and friends as best he could, but because of poor cell reception and other issues, he sometimes went over a month without talking to anyone.

Eventually, after years of travelling, Will decided it was time to go home. After talking to his mother, he learned that Adalet had moved to the United States and was working for the police in Grimsborough. Will saw this as an opportunity to surprise his cousin and check out the US before returning to Canada. So he got a ticket for the next flight to the US and made his way to Grimsborough.

Events of Criminal Case

Season 1

Will made his debut appearance at the end of Anatomy of Murder. He surprised Adalet at her work after spending several months overseas working on a video documentary. He was introduced to Adalet's teammates, plus James Savage, who was there at the time, and Adalet agreed to let Will stay at her place while he was in Grimsborough.

He would return in the following chapter Home Sweet Home where he would get to talk to Adalet's teammates and get to know them. Will would speak about his family back home while also promising to show Adalet the videos he had taken during his travels across Asia. It was also revealed that Will and his parents were the ones who gifted Adalet her compass/pocket watch as a graduation present. This is the same compass/pocket watch Adalet later gave Fili when the two got married in exchange for the Irishman's boot knife.

Will returned during A Date to embarrass Adalet, who was on a date with Fili at a local diner. He pretended to be a waiter and delivered the couple each a slice of chocolate cake, to which Fili told him that he was allergic to chocolate. Now the one feeling embarrassed, Will offered to eat the chocolate cake while Fili ordered himself a slice of carrot cake. After interrogating Fili about his feelings for Adalet, Will paid for everyone's desserts and left the couple to finish their date.

The next time Will appears is at the beginning and end of Jolly Old Killer. Before Adalet had to hunt down a killer, Will had been helping her decorate a Christmas tree. He would come back at the end for the GBPD's Christmas party at Ramirez's house, where he complimented Chief King on the elf hat he was wearing while trying (and failing) to contain his amusement.

The last time Will would be in Grimsborough was during the case Worst of Wives and Worst of Women. In this case, it was revealed that he despised his aunt Renée, Adalet's fake human mother, and hated the woman for how she treated his "cousin". In a blind rage, he stabbed the woman to death and threw her corpse into the river, where it eventually washed ashore and was discovered by Adalet, Jones, and the Savages. Will showed no remorse for his crime, so Judge Hall ordered him to be deported back to Canada, where he was tried and sentenced to prison.

Adalet has not spoken to Will since he left Grimsborough but hopes to one day have the chance to tell him the truth about who she is and who Renée was.

Season 2

Will was briefly mentioned by Adalet when she was talking to Amy the night after her brother, Duncan, had been arrested.

Season 3

Will returned in It's Been A Long Time Coming when Adalet visited him in prison. It was the first time the two had seen each other following Will's arrest, and Adalet was shocked by the state she found him in. The last time she had seen Will, he was boasting like a madman that he had done the right thing by killing Renée. Now, after spending a few years behind bars, he seemed almost... Broken. At first, he didn't say anything, so Adalet did the talking, catching her "cousin" up on everything that had happened in her life following the murder. She told him about the Crimson Order, the different district drama of Pacific Bay, and what she could about the hunt for SOMBRA.

She also told Will that she and Fili had gotten married and now had a son. She rambled on and on about anything she could think of to fill the silence until she heard Will crying. The man had finally broken down and babbled his apologies to her for killing her "mother." His time spent alone had forced him to think about what he'd done, and with the help of the prison therapist, he realized that while Renée was a despicable human being, killing her didn't make him superior. Will begged his cousin to understand how sorry he was for killing Renée, and Adalet responded by telling him the truth about herself and her family.

Will was stunned to find out that aliens were real and demanded proof. After Adalet gave a small demonstration of her powers, she answered his questions about why she kept it a secret. And while Will was hurt that she hadn't trusted her with the truth earlier, he understood why she had to stay silent about it. So now that the truth was out, Adalet told Will about the real her, and both of them were happy to have the weight of their guilt off their chests.

While it will take time for them to recover from the secrets and betrayal, Adalet promises to keep in contact with Will and visit him in prison when she can. She also confided in him about the baby she and Fili were going to have, and Will was ecstatic to hear she was pregnant, especially now that he knew the real reason she struggled with fertility. He knows she and Fili will make amazing parents; after all, they already are with the son Ahmet, and he looks forward to receiving the first baby picture so he can hang it up on the wall in his cell beside his other family photos.

Story Information

First appeared: Anatomy of a Murder

Trivia

* I gave him the first name William after William Shakespeare because I made him like plays and musicals

     * The reason why I made him love plays and musicals is that at the time that I created him I was obsessed with musicals

          * I mean, I still am obsessed with musicals, I was just even more obsessed back then!

* I chose his stepfather's name, Pièrre, because I knew a couple from Quebec who, I kid you not, both of their names were Pièrre. People used to call them the "Pièrres"; they were lovely

* As per a comment Adalet made in Innocence Lost, Will has a habit of locking his keys in his car

* Contrary to some people's belief, it was always intended for Will to kill his aunt. I created his character to be a killer

     * I apologize to those who liked him, and we're mad I made him a killer!