Jon Garth Murray (November 16, 1954 – September 29, 1995) served as president of

American Atheists American Atheists is a non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to defending the civil liberties of atheists and advocating complete separation of church and state. It provides speakers for colleges, universities, clubs, and the ...

, a non-governmental organization that lobbied on the separation of church and state. He was the second son of

Madalyn Murray O'Hair Madalyn Murray O'Hair (née Mays; April 13, 1919 – September 29, 1995) was an American activist supporting atheism and separation of church and state. In 1963 she founded American Atheists and served as its president until 1986, after which her ...

, an activist who founded American Atheists in 1963 and served as its first president. He was the half-brother of

William J. Murray William J. Murray III (born May 25, 1946) is an American author, Baptist minister, and Social conservatism in the United States, social conservative lobbyist who serves as the chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition, a non-profit organizatio ...

Career and activism

From 1986 until his death in 1995, Murray held the ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

'' office of President of American Atheists. It was a title without power, however, as his mother retained authoritative control behind-the-scenes.

Personal life and death

Jon Garth Murray, called "Garth", was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in 1954, the son of

and Michael Fiorillo, her boyfriend at the time. It is likely that Garth never met his father. In 1960 his mother filed a lawsuit against the Baltimore public school system, naming his older half-brother William J. Murray as plaintiff. Consolidated with another case, it reached the United States Supreme Court on appeal, which ruled that mandatory public Bible readings in public schools were unconstitutional. That year his mother founded

and served for decades as the first president. Murray also worked for the organization as an adult. He is thought to have had only one, short-lived relationship with a woman. He was a tall, heavyset man and had a

speech impairment Speech disorders or speech impairments are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute. Speech skills are ...

. He was living with his mother Madalyn in 1995, together with his niece Robin Murray O'Hair in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. (His mother had adopted her granddaughter Robin, making her Garth's adopted sister). In 1995, Murray, his mother, and his niece Robin were all kidnapped and killed in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

by David Roland Waters, a former employee of American Atheists. Waters committed these crimes in association with two other men.

Remembrance

In 2012, a memorial brick for Murray, his mother

, and his niece Robin was placed at

Lou Neff Point Lou Neff Point is a promontory with a gazebo in Austin, Texas, United States. Description and history The point offers views of downtown Austin from where Barton Creek enters Lady Bird Lake. In 1975, the Texas Society of Landscape Architects sel ...

Zilker Park Zilker Metropolitan Park is a recreational area in south Austin, Texas at the juncture of Barton Creek and the Colorado River that comprises over of publicly owned land. It is named after its benefactor, Andrew Jackson Zilker, who donated the la ...

in Austin, Texas.

References

* 1954 births 1995 deaths American atheism activists American murder victims People from Austin, Texas People murdered in Texas Male murder victims Kidnapped American people 20th-century atheists {{crime-bio-stub