The chief investigator for the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office is facing a first-degree murder charge after his wife was found stabbed to death inside their downtown Dallas apartment Friday night, less than two weeks after he filed for divorce.
Jimmy Spurger Jr., 54, is accused of killing Maria Spurger, his wife of roughly 35 years. Emergency crews found her on a couch with a knife in her neck, while Spurger was discovered sitting on a bed in another room, covered in blood, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Fox 4 Dallas.
Court records in Dallas County show Spurger filed for divorce on Oct. 26, less than two weeks before the killing. A Nov. 3 entry in the case indicated Maria had not yet been served with the divorce papers.
Dallas County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins said Sunday he had ordered Spurger suspended from his job and his access removed.
“Upon notice of this tragic murder yesterday, I instructed Administration to place the employee on suspension and remove his access,” Jenkins wrote on X.
How the killing was discovered
Firefighters responded to a welfare check call around 10:40 p.m. Friday at the couple’s apartment on North Akard Street, according to the affidavit. No one answered repeated knocks, and when crews forced the door open, they found furniture blocking the entrance.
After moving the furniture aside, firefighters found Maria unresponsive on the couch. Spurger was seated on a bed in the bedroom but did not respond when asked if he was okay. The firefighters backed out and called police.
Officers arrived around 11:13 p.m. and found Spurger covered in blood with a small knife beside him. Several empty, blood-covered pill bottles were found in the kitchen, according to the affidavit. No one else was inside the apartment.
Maria was pronounced dead at the scene. Spurger was taken to Methodist Central Hospital, where investigators said they could not interview him because he may have taken multiple pills.
He was booked into the Dallas County Jail on Saturday on a murder charge and is being held without bond, according to jail records.
A career spent on criminal investigations
Before his arrest, Spurger oversaw investigators who assist public defenders in preparing criminal cases, according to the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office website. He had served as chief investigator for 11 months and spent more than 13 years with the office overall, primarily in its Capital Murder Division, where his work included examining evidence and interviewing witnesses.
Spurger previously spent more than 20 years in law enforcement, specializing in homicide investigations and crimes against people. During his final decade in that career, he supervised child abuse and family violence investigations for the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office.
Police have not released a motive and say the killing remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective C. Johnson at 214-671-3584 or [email protected].
