MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Shelby County Jury has convicted a Bartlett man who stabbed and killed his ex-girlfriend and her teenage son after breaking into their Scenic Hills home in 2022.
Jose Alexis Murillo-Salgado was convicted Nov. 16, 2024, on two counts of first-degree murder by premeditation, two counts of first-degree murder in the perpetration of a felony, and especially aggravated burglary.
The Shelby County District Attorney General's Office said he was automatically sentenced to life for the murder charges, and still faces sentencing on the burglary charge. The court will decide at that time whether his life sentences will run concurrently or consecutively.
Witnesses said that shortly after 3 a.m. on July 28, 2022, Murillo-Salgado forced his way in at the Claudia Nunez’ home in the 2800 block of North Highland Road near Scenic Highway. She lived there with her three children.
Investigators said Murillo-Salgado began arguing with Nunez, who wanted to end their relationship of several months. They said he went into the kitchen, grabbed a butcher knife and Nunez’ 14-year-old son, Kevin Nunez, who had tried to intervene. Investigators said Murillo-Salgado stabbed the boy's mother several times and then took off from the scene.
Claudia Nunez was pronounced dead at the scene. Kevin Nunez was taken to a hospital where he died a short time later.
Prosecutors said Nunez’ 16-year-old daughter and 12-year-old daughter witnessed the attack but managed to escape.
Memphis police issued a BOLO alert for Murillo-Salgado and the white Toyota Camry he was driving. Hours after the stabbings, at around 12:30 p.m., a trooper with the Arkansas State Police spotted Murillo-Salgado on Interstate 30 in Hope, Arkansas, some 245 miles southwest of Memphis.
The trooper followed Murillo-Salgado when he took an exit to a service station and arrested him in the parking lot without incident.
