Santa Barbara Realtor Jailed on Attempted Murder

Charged with kidnapping, rape, and attempted murder, among other felonies, Barret Murphy, 49, was arrested on the morning of October 6 by Sheriff’s deputies in Montecito. Murphy was found screaming incoherently, lying in the middle of East Valley Road near Picacho Lane by an off-duty Montecito Fire Protection District employee, who called 9-1-1, according to a district spokesperson.

Murphy — who had recently been placed on at least one involuntary 72-hour psychiatric hold — had broken into a female acquaintance’s residence, according to the Sheriff’s Office, sexually assaulted her, and tried to kill her with a knife. The victim escaped, flagged down a passing vehicle, and was driven to Montecito Fire’s Station No. 2, and then to the hospital. Authorities have not released her name.

Murphy is a Santa Barbara native and second-generation Realtor, according to biographical information online. In the 1990s, he formed a band, Pornstar, which morphed into a successful apparel business, with his brother Sean Murphy, who died in 2009 after struggling with addiction.