COLLEEN LUTOLF Kevin Murphy was found dead in the basement of his Fort Street home June 15. BRICK – A man a plumber found dead in the basement of a Fort Street home is believed to have died an accidental death, police said.
Kevin Murphy, 62, of Brick, was found dead on his basement stairs at 2:03 p.m. June 15 by a plumber who had returned to the home to complete work on a hot water heater, police Capt. Douglas Kinney said. The plumber had started work on the appliance three days prior.
“It is believed he fell,” Kinney said. “He struck his head on a cinder block. There was a copious amount of blood.”
Murphy lived in a house with a “Yankee basement,” which is one that must be entered through ground-level doors on the outside of the house, Kinney said.
The exact time of Murphy’s death is unknown, Kinney said.
Murphy’s next-door neighbor, James Nickerson, said Murphy’s family members told him they spoke to Murphy Monday evening.
Murphy lived alone, Nickerson said.
After Monday, no one saw Murphy until the plumber found him three days later, Kinney said.
Neighbors said Murphy, who had lived in the converted log cabin at least 15 years, and was owned by his parents, had retired some time ago, but no one could recall what he did for a living.
“He kept to himself,” Nickerson said. “He was an alone kind of person.”
Murphy’s closest relatives, brothers from New York, were notified of the accident, Kinney said.
– Colleen Lutolf