45-year-old identified as man found shot to death next to his dog in burning Birmingham home

45-year-old identified as man found shot to death next to his dog in burning Birmingham home

Authorities have released the name of a man found slain inside a burning home in west Birmingham.

The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Deshawn Kahill Murphy. He was 45.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service and Birmingham police responded about 12:15 p.m. Monday to a blaze at 4328 Willard Avenue S.W.

As firefighters entered the house, they found Murphy and a dog unresponsive just inside the front door. Both had been shot and were pronounced dead on the scene at 1:23 p.m.

Police Sgt. LaQuitta Wade said a friend of the victim was sitting outside the house in a vehicle. An unknown man fired shots at the friend and the friend then fled the location on foot.

The friend sustained a gunshot wound to side and was taken to the hospital.

Shortly after the shooting, the fire was reported.

Wade said it wasn’t immediately clear if Murphy was fatally shot before or after the friend was shot.

No arrests have been announced.

Murphy is Birmingham’s 122nd homicide this year. Of those, one was an officer-involved shooting by an outside law enforcement agency, and eight others have been ruled justifiable.

In all of Jefferson County there have been 168 homicides, including the 122 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detective s at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777