Kentucky Man Apprehended After Fleeing Scene of Girlfriend's Murder with 4 Young Children, Police Say

Richard Gray, 32, was apprehended in Illinois after police were called to break up a fight at a gas station parking lot

Photo: Mount Vernon Police Department

A 32-year-old Kentucky man was arrested in Illinois after being accused of fleeing a residence where his girlfriend was found dead.

Around 5:30 p.m. Friday, Bardstown Police conducted a welfare check and discovered the body of 33-year-old Tabitha Murray, according to news station WDRB.

An Amber Alert was issued when police realized Richard Gray fled with his four children.

"I knew she was a really good girl. She never did bother nobody. She never did anything to nobody," Chasity Gilbert, a neighbor told the station. "Everyone's trying to figure out what's going on, what really happened, what caused this."

A few hours later, officers from Mt. Vernon Police responded to a call at a gas station for a fight between two men, according to the department's official Facebook page. One of the men allegedly refused to listen to police and was taken into custody when they discovered his vehicle in the parking lot.

"Upon running the registration on the vehicle, the officers learned an Amber alert had been posted on the vehicle," officials stated, "and the vehicle was possibly being driven by a murder suspect, Richard Gray, from Kentucky and endangered children were also believed to be traveling in the vehicle."

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Gray had a Kentucky warrant for his arrest charging him with First Degree Murder and Unlawful Imprisonment. A bond on the warrant was set at $500,000.

In addition to the charges from Kentucky, charges against Gray for resisting and/or obstructing Arrest, obstructing identification, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a stolen firearm, criminal damage to property and aggravated battery were pending in Jefferson County.

The children were found safe inside the vehicle and transported to the Mt. Vernon Police Department. The Division of Children and Family Services responded to the police department to assist in returning the children to family, police stated.

Gray was expected to be extradited back to Kentucky, but as of now, there were no online records indicating he had been transferred. It was unknown whether he had obtained an attorney to speak on his behalf.