A Connecticut death investigation that began with a 911 call about a woman allegedly falling down the stairs has now become a murder case. Cole Theodore Werhan, 28, of Burlington, was arrested on June 23 and charged with murder in the death of his girlfriend, 26-year-old Janina Brooke Murphy, a Massachusetts woman who was found dead inside his home on March 29. Authorities initially described the case as a suspicious death, but the investigation took a major turn after the medical examiner ruled Murphy’s death a homicide caused by blunt force injury to the head.
According to the arrest warrant described in multiple reports, police were called to the Claire Hill Road home after Werhan’s father reported that a woman had fallen down the stairs and might need medical attention. When officers arrived, they found Werhan outside near the rear porch with what appeared to be dried blood on his face and legs. Inside the home, Murphy was found lying under a blanket in the living room with visible signs of trauma. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Werhan allegedly told investigators that he and Murphy had been drinking and smoking marijuana that day before an argument began over deleted text messages with other women. He claimed Murphy became enraged, hit her own head against a wall and then threw herself down the stairs. But investigators said the evidence inside the home raised questions about that account, including blood-like stains found in multiple rooms and signs suggesting a possible struggle. Reports also noted that Murphy had bruises in different stages of healing.
The medical examiner’s findings became the turning point. On June 22, Murphy’s death was ruled a homicide caused by blunt force trauma to the head. The next day, state police arrested Werhan and charged him with murder. Prosecutors have since pointed to the severity of the allegations and Werhan’s history of domestic violence cases, while a judge maintained his bond at $5 million.
Court documents and local reports also describe a broader pattern of alleged abuse involving other women. Several women told investigators that they met Werhan through dating apps or online connections and later experienced threats, restraint, assault or strangulation allegations. Some of those cases remain pending, while others are still under investigation, and Werhan has not been convicted in connection with all of the allegations described in the warrant.
Murphy’s family has remembered her as kind, artistic and deeply loved. Her mother told CBS Boston that investigators made clear her daughter “didn’t just fall down the stairs,” and that confirmation of the homicide ruling was painful but important. Murphy would have turned 27 in June.
Werhan’s attorney told PEOPLE that his client will defend the charges in court and raise his defenses at the appropriate time. For now, the case remains active, and Werhan is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. But investigators say the evidence transformed what was first presented as a fall into a homicide investigation — one now focused on what happened inside that Burlington home before Janina Brooke Murphy was found dead.
