Madalyn Murray O'Hair
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Madalyn Murray O'Hair ( Mays; April 13, 1919 – September 29, 1995) was an American activist supporting
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
,
separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
,
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
, and
Holocaust denial Historical negationism, Denial of the Holocaust is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that asserts that the genocide of Jews by the Nazi Party, Nazis is a fabrication or exaggeration. It includes making one or more of the following false claims: ...
. In 1963, she founded American Atheists and served as its president until 1986, after which her son Jon Garth Murray succeeded her. She created the first issues of '' American Atheist Magazine'' and identified as a militant feminist. O'Hair is best known for the '' Murray v. Curlett'' lawsuit, which challenged the policy of mandatory prayers and Bible reading in Baltimore public schools, in which she named her first son William J. Murray as plaintiff. Consolidated with ''
Abington School District v. Schempp ''Abington School District v. Schempp'', 374 U.S. 203 (1963),. was a Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court case in which the Court decided 8–1 in favor of the respondent, Edward Schempp, on behalf of his son Ellery Sc ...
'' (1963), it was heard by the United States
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, which ruled that officially sanctioned mandatory
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
-reading in American public schools was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court had prohibited officially sponsored prayer in schools in '' Engel v. Vitale'' (1962) on similar grounds. After she founded the American Atheists and won ''Murray v. Curlett'', she achieved attention to the extent that in 1964, ''
Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' magazine referred to her as "the most hated woman in America". Through American Atheists, O'Hair filed numerous other suits on issues of separation of church and state. In 1995, O'Hair, her son Garth, and her granddaughter Robin disappeared from
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
. Initial speculation suggested the trio had absconded with hundreds of thousands of dollars from American Atheists coffers; in fact, the trio had been murdered by their former associates, and the bodies were not found until 2001.Ross E. Milloy, "Bodies Identified as Those of Missing Atheist and Kin"
''New York Times'', 16 March 2001; accessed 12 August 2024


Early and personal life

Madalyn Mays was born in the Beechview neighborhood of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, on April 13, 1919, the daughter of Lena Christina (née Scholle) and John Irwin Mays. She had an older brother, John Irwin Jr. (known as "Irv"). Their father was of Scots-Irish ethnicity and their mother was of German ancestry. At the age of four, Madalyn was baptized into her father's
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
church; her mother was a
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
. The family moved to Ohio, and in 1936, Mays graduated from Rossford High School in Rossford. In 1941, Mays married John Henry Roths, a steelworker. They separated when they both enlisted for
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
service, he in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
, and she in the Women's Army Corps. In April 1945, while posted to a
cryptography Cryptography, or cryptology (from "hidden, secret"; and ''graphein'', "to write", or ''-logy, -logia'', "study", respectively), is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of Adversary (cryptography), ...
position in
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, she began a relationship with officer William J. Murray Jr., a married
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
. He refused to divorce his wife. Mays divorced Roths and adopted the name Madalyn Murray. She gave birth to her son with officer Murray after returning to Ohio, and named the boy William J. Murray III (nicknamed "Bill"). In 1949, Murray completed a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
from Ashland University. She earned a law degree from the South Texas College of Law, but did not pass the
bar exam A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...
. She moved with her son William to
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. On November 16, 1954, she gave birth to her second son, Jon Garth Murray, fathered by her boyfriend Michael Fiorillo. According to her son William, a
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
minister, Madalyn was a
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
who unabashedly supported the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. William claimed that when he was still a child, Madalyn began hosting
Socialist Labor Party The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 192 ...
meetings and asked him to attend so he could, as quoted from Madalyn, "learn the 'truth' about capitalism." William also claimed that Madalyn, who denied being a communist, actually held secret meetings in their basement with her Communist Party comrades. She twice sought to defect to the Soviet Union, applying first in 1959 through the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C., and again at the Soviet Embassy in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, travelling there for the express purpose in 1960; on both occasions, the Soviets denied her entry.Lee Epstein, Thomas G. Walker (2017), ''Constitutional Law for a Changing America: A Short Course''. CQ Press, On their return from Paris, Murray and sons went to live with her mother, father, and brother, Irv, at their house in the Loch Raven, Baltimore neighborhood. Soon after, Madalyn accompanied William to their neighbourhood school, Woodbourne Junior High School, to re-enroll William for freshman classes. Madalyn was unhappy to see students, after the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, engaging in prayer. She instructed William to keep a log of all religious exercises and references to religion for the next two weeks, saying, "Well, if they'll keep us from going to Russia where there is some freedom, we'll just have to change America." After the two weeks, and after her request that William be allowed to leave class during prayer times was denied by school authorities, she pulled him out of school and proceeded to file a lawsuit against the Baltimore Public School System, naming William as plaintiff. She said that its practices of mandatory prayer and required reading of the Bible were unconstitutional. The US Supreme Court upheld her position by a ruling in 1963. Because of hostility in Baltimore against her family related to this case, Murray left Maryland with her sons in 1963 and moved to
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,
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. She had allegedly assaulted five Baltimore City Police Department officers who tried to retrieve her son William's girlfriend Susan from her house; she was a minor and had run away from home. Susan gave birth to William's daughter, whom she named Robin. Murray later adopted Robin. In 1965, Murray married U.S. Marine Richard O'Hair, and changed her surname. He had belonged to a Communist group in Detroit during the 1940s. During investigations of the 1950s, he gave more than 100 names of other members to the FBI. Later, he was investigated for falsely claiming to be an FBI agent. Their relationship has been described as "textbook
codependents In psychology, codependency is a theory that attempts to explain imbalanced Interpersonal relationship, relationships where one person Enabling, enables another person's self-destructive behavior, such as addiction, poor mental health, Maturity ...
". Although the couple separated, they were legally married until his death in 1978. In 1980, she publicly rejected her estranged son William when he announced that he had converted to
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
. He later became a
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
minister.


Activism and politics

In 1960, Murray filed a lawsuit against the Baltimore City Public School System (''Murray v. Curlett''), naming her son William as plaintiff. She challenged the city school system's practice of requiring students to participate in
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
readings at the city's public schools. She said her son's refusal to participate had resulted in
bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, Suffering, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggression, aggressively wikt:domination, dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. On ...
by classmates and that administrators condoned this behavior. After consolidation with ''
Abington School District v. Schempp ''Abington School District v. Schempp'', 374 U.S. 203 (1963),. was a Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court case in which the Court decided 8–1 in favor of the respondent, Edward Schempp, on behalf of his son Ellery Sc ...
,'' the lawsuit was heard by the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
in 1963. The Court voted 8–1 in Schempp's favor, saying that mandatory public Bible readings by students were unconstitutional. Prayer in schools other than Bible-readings had been ruled as unconstitutional the year before by the Court in '' Engel v. Vitale'' (1962). O'Hair filed a number of other lawsuits: one was against the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...
(NASA) because of the Apollo 8 Genesis reading. The case was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court for lack of jurisdiction. The challenge had limited effect. O'Hair endorsed
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
in the 1976 presidential election because of Carter's opposition to mandatory school prayer, his support for
sex education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...
in public schools, and his stance on ecological matters. In a 1989 interview, O'Hair said "I told my kids I just want three words on my tombstone, if I have one. I'll probably be cremated. One is "woman." I'm very comfortable in that role. I've loved being a woman, I've loved being a mother, I've loved being a grandmother. I want three words: Woman, Atheist, Anarchist. That's me."


Feminism

During an interview with ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' in 1965, O'Hair described herself as a " militant feminist" and expressed her dissatisfaction with women's inequality in America, stating during the interview: She also expressed her discontent with the women's liberation movement.


Holocaust denial

In the article "The Shoah: hope springs eternal" in the August 1989 issue of the ''American Atheist'' magazine, O'Hair downplayed the Holocaust: In the same article, she claimed that "investigative and scholarly studies undertaken during the last fifty years", such as a book by Paul Rassinier established that the total number of Jewish victims was between 1 and 1.5 million, adding, " is is a far cry from an alleged 6,000,000", then elaborating on this point: She concluded:


American Atheists

After settling in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, O'Hair founded American Atheists in 1963. It identifies as "a nationwide movement which defends the
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
of non-believers, works for the
separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy". She served as the group's first
chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
and president until 1986. She was the public voice and face of atheism in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. Although her son Garth Murray succeeded her officially as president, she retained most of the power and decision making. In a 1965 interview with ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'', she described religion as "a crutch" and an "irrational reliance on superstitions and supernatural nonsense". In the same ''Playboy'' interview, O'Hair described numerous alleged incidents of harassment, intimidation, and death threats against her and her family. She read several letters she claimed to have received, including one that read (referring to the
conversion of Paul the Apostle The conversion of Paul the Apostle (also the Pauline conversion, Damascene conversion, Damascus Christophany and Paul's transformation on the road to Damascus) was, according to the New Testament, an event in the life of Saul/Paul the Apostle ...
on the road to Damascus), "May Jesus, who you so vigorously deny, change you into a Paul." O'Hair told the interviewer, "Isn't that lovely? Christine Jorgensen had to go to
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
for an operation, but ''me'' they'll fix with faith — painlessly and for nothing." She said that she left Baltimore because of persecution from residents. She had received mail containing photos smeared with feces, her son Garth's pet kitten was killed, and her home was stoned. She said she thought such events were a catalyst for her father's fatal
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
. She filed several lawsuits challenging governmental practices, based on upholding and defining the constitutional separation of church and state. Among these was one against the city of Baltimore's policy of classifying the Catholic Church as a tax-exempt organization in terms of property. O'Hair founded an atheist
radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production, or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio netw ...
, in which she criticized
religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
and theism. She hosted a television show, ''American Atheist Forum'', which was carried on more than 140
cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
systems. Arrested for disorderly conduct in Austin in 1977, O'Hair continued to be a polarizing figure into the 1980s. She served as "chief speechwriter" for Larry Flynt's 1984 presidential campaign. She was regularly invited to appear on TV talk shows as a guest. Her second son Garth Murray officially succeeded her as president of the American Atheists, but she was said to retain most of the power. Some chapters seceded from the main group at the time. But , American Atheists continued as an active organization with a growing membership. Her son William J. Murray became a
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
in 1980 and later a Baptist minister, publishing a memoir of his spiritual journey in 1982. Murray O'Hair commented, "One could call this a postnatal abortion on the part of a mother, I guess; I repudiate him entirely and completely for now and all times ... he is beyond human forgiveness." In 1988, O'Hair produced several issues of '' Truth Seeker'' under her masthead as part of an attempt to take over the publication, but the courts ruled against her ownership. In the 1990s, American Atheists staff consisted of O'Hair, her son Jon Garth Murray, Robin Murray O'Hair, and a handful of support personnel. William J. Murray was estranged from his mother, brother, and daughter. They had not met nor spoken for many years. The trio lived in O'Hair's large home, worked in the same office, and took shared vacations.


Court cases

O'Hair filed numerous lawsuits in which she argued the separation of church and state had been breached. *'' Murray v. Curlett'' (1963) Challenged Bible reading and prayer recitation in Maryland public schools. *''Murray v. United States'' (1964) To force the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
to extend the Fairness Doctrine so that atheists could have equal time with religion on radio and television. *''Murray v. Nixon'' (1970) Challenged weekly religious services in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
. *''O'Hair v. Paine'' (1971) Challenged open readings from the Bible by U.S.
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
s during their spaceflights, spurred by a reading from the
book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...
by the crew of Apollo 8. *''O'Hair v. Cooke'' (1977) Challenged the opening prayer at city council meetings in Austin, Texas. *''O'Hair v. Blumenthal'' (1978) Challenged the inclusion of the phrase "''
In God We Trust "In God We Trust" (also rendered as "In God we trust") is the United States national motto, official motto of the United States as well as the motto of the U.S. state of Florida, along with the nation of Nicaragua (Spanish language, Spanish: '' ...
''" on U.S. currency. *''O'Hair v. Hill'' (1978) To have removed from the Texas constitution a provision requiring a belief in God of persons holding offices of public trust. *''O'Hair v. Andrus'' (1979) Challenged the use of
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facilities for the Pope to hold a
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mass on the Mall in Washington, D.C. *''O'Hair v. Clements'' (1980) To have removed the
nativity scene In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmastide, Christmas season, of ar ...
displayed in the rotunda of the capitol building in Austin, Texas. *''Carter, et al. v Broadlawns Medical Center, et al.'' (1984–1987) Challenged the full-time employment of an unordained chaplain at a tax-funded county hospital, Broadlawns Medical Centre in
Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
.


Kidnapping and murder

On August 27, 1995, O'Hair, her son Jon Garth Murray, and her granddaughter Robin Murray O'Hair disappeared from their home and office. A typewritten note was attached to the locked office door, saying "The Murray O'Hair family has been called out of town on an emergency basis. We do not know how long we will be gone at the time of the writing of this memo." When police entered O'Hair's home, it looked as if they had left suddenly. The trio said in phone calls that they were on "business" in
San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
. Garth Murray ordered US$600,000 worth of gold coins from a San Antonio jeweler, but took delivery of only $500,000 worth of coins. Until September 27, American Atheists employees received several mobile calls from Robin and Jon, but neither explained why they had left or when they would return; employees reported that their voices sounded strained and disturbed. After September 28, no further communication came from any of the three. American Atheists was facing serious financial problems because of the withdrawal of funds, and membership dwindled in the face of an apparent scandal. There was speculation that the trio had disappeared in order to conceal its assets or avoid being contacted by creditors.


Investigation and arrests

During the case, ''
The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...
'' reporter Robert Bryce criticized the relative lack of action by the
Austin Police Department Austin Police Department (APD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving Austin, Texas. As of fiscal year 2022, the agency had an annual budget of $443.1 million and employed around 2,484 personnel, including approximately 1,809 officers. ...
, even when they were contacted by O'Hair's estranged son William J. Murray. He noted that the investigation was being led by agents of the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
(with whom American Atheists had a long-running dispute over taxes owed), the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
(due to the possibility of the O'Hairs having absconded with organizational funds), and the Dallas County Sheriff's Office (where Danny Fry's headless, limbless corpse was found in October 1995, but had been unidentifiable until February 1999). Bryce, William Murray, '' ABC Nightline'' reporter Valeri Williams and '' San Antonio Express-News'' reporter John MacCormack, amongst others, felt that little official effort went into the investigation because the authorities preferred to believe that the theft and disappearance was simply an internal American Atheists matter. In 1999, nearly four years after the August 1995 disappearances, continued prodding and investigative leads from the various reporters finally led the official investigation to focus on David Roland Waters, a felon with a violent history who had started working for American Atheists in 1993. In May 1995, Waters had pleaded guilty to stealing $54,000 from the organization in 1994. When Waters received a lenient sentence, O'Hair published an article in the American Atheists newsletter in which she exposed the theft of the moneyalong with his previous crimes. O'Hair claimed that, at the age of 17, Waters had killed another teenager and had been sentenced to eight years in prison. When the authorities finally pursued the Waters connection in 1999, Waters' former girlfriend, Patty Steffens, confirmed that Waters had vowed violent revenge after reading O'Hair's article. Federal agents for the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
and the
IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
, along with the police, concluded that Waters and his accomplices (Gary Paul Karr and Danny Fry) had kidnapped all three Murray/O'Hair family members, forced them to withdraw the missing funds, gone on several shopping sprees with their money and credit cards, and killed and dismembered all three. A few days after O'Hair and her son and granddaughter were killed, Waters and Karr killed Fry. His body was found on a riverbed in rural Dallas County in October 1995, but his head and hands were missing; as a result, his remains were not identified for three and a half years, when reporter MacCormack's own investigation led him to suggest that the body might be Fry's. A search warrant was executed on the apartment of Waters and his girlfriend. The search revealed ammunition of various calibers; Waters, a convicted felon, was not allowed this material and he was arrested, while the contents of his apartment were seized. At the same time, Gary Karr was contacted in Walled Lake, Michigan, and interviewed. Having served the last 30 years in prison for kidnapping a judge's daughter, Karr would not talk. He had his rights read to him and he asked for permission to listen to the information which was being discussed. Karr then decided to talk and implicated Waters in the deaths of Murray and the other two O'Hairs. Karr signed an affidavit and drew a map so that the police could find the bodies. Karr was arrested and taken to jail for possession of two firearms. He was held in
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, awaiting trial. The weapon charge was dismissed, and Karr was transferred to the custody of the United States Marshals in Austin because he needed to be tried for the deaths of the O'Hairs. In June 2000, nearly a full five years after the murders, a three-week trial found Karr guilty of
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
to commit
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
, traveling interstate in order to commit violent acts,
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
, and interstate transportation of stolen property: all charges related to the O'Hair case. He was acquitted of conspiring to kidnap the O'Hairs, because the authorities had failed to locate any bodies. In August 2000, Karr was sentenced to two life terms in prison by U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks. Waters was arrested and prosecuted; in a January 2001 plea agreement solely on the charge of conspiracy, he agreed to lead authorities to the site where the dismembered bodies of the O'Hairs had been burned and buried. He was sentenced to serve 20 years in federal prison, which he had requested, because he did not want to serve time for his earlier theft conviction in Texas state prison. He did not go on trial for the kidnapping and murder of the three members of the O'Hair family. He was also ordered to pay back a total of $543,665 to American Atheists and the estates of Madalyn Murray O'Hair, Jon Garth Murray, and Robin Murray O'Hair. It is unlikely that any part of these debts were ever paid, because Waters was not able to earn any money while he was in prison. Waters died of
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
on January 27, 2003, at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. When Waters, under the plea agreement, led federal agents to the O'Hairs' burial site on a Texas ranch, they discovered that the legs of all three of the victims had been cut off with a saw. The remains had suffered such extensive
mutilation Mutilation or maiming (from the ) is Bodily harm, severe damage to the body that has a subsequent harmful effect on an individual's quality of life. In the modern era, the term has an overwhelmingly negative connotation, referring to alteratio ...
and
decomposition Decomposition is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is ess ...
that officials had to identify them through dental records,
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
testing and, in Madalyn O'Hair's case, by matching the serial number on a prosthetic hip to records from Brackenridge Hospital in Austin. The head and hands of Danny Fry were also found at the site. Eventually, Bill Murray (as the closest surviving relative) was granted custody of the remains and buried them at an undisclosed location and (in accordance with his
Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
beliefs) did not pray for the dead; however, some of those who were with him did pray for remaining family members and law enforcement officials who had worked on the case. In 1995, Waters and his girlfriend had put the gold coins, which he and his accomplices had extorted from the O'Hairs, in an unsecured storage locker which had been rented by the girlfriend. It only had a cheap padlock. Waters had taken some of the coins and for a few days, he partied with Gary Karr and his former wife. When he returned to the locker, he discovered that the remaining gold coins (
American Gold Eagle The American Gold Eagle is an official gold bullion coin of the United States. Authorized under the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985, it was first released by the United States Mint in 1986. Because the term "eagle" also is the official United St ...
s, Maple Leaf coins, and
Krugerrand The Krugerrand (; ) is a South African coin, first minted on 3 July 1967 to help market South African gold and produced by Rand Refinery and the South African Mint. The name is a compound of '' Paul Kruger'', the former President of the South ...
s) had all been stolen. A group of thieves from San Antonio who were operating in that area had gained keys to the type of lock which had been used by Waters' girlfriend. In the course of their activities, the thieves had come across the locker, used a key to open it, and found the suitcase full of gold coins. They returned to San Antonio, and with the help of friends, they exchanged the gold coins for cash. The thieves and friends went to Las Vegas for a weekend. All but one coin, which had been given as a pendant gift to an aunt, were spent by these thieves. That last coin was recovered by the FBI after a Memorial Day 1999 public appeal.


Legacy

Murray's 1960 lawsuit against the Baltimore City School System was later consolidated with a similar one from Pennsylvania, when these reached the US Supreme Court on appeal. The Court ruled in 1963 (in ''
Abington School District v. Schempp ''Abington School District v. Schempp'', 374 U.S. 203 (1963),. was a Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court case in which the Court decided 8–1 in favor of the respondent, Edward Schempp, on behalf of his son Ellery Sc ...
)'' that school-sponsored Bible reading in public schools in the United States was unconstitutional. This decision gradually resulted in the end of religious activities sponsored by public schools. Non-religious students had been expected to participate in such activities, and state-level policies varied. O'Hair's
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
and embrace of
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
led later atheists to distance themselves from her. Prominent atheist author
Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British and American author and journalist. He was the author of Christopher Hitchens bibliography, 18 books on faith, religion, culture, politics, and literature. He was born ...
called O'Hair a "madwoman". In 2012, a memorial brick for Murray, her son Jon, and her granddaughter Robin was placed at Lou Neff Point in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. In 2013, the first atheist monument to be erected on American government property was unveiled at the Bradford County Courthouse in Florida, where other residents had installed a monument to religious ideals (in this case, a replica of the
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...
). It is a 1,500-pound granite bench and
plinth A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...
inscribed with quotes by O'Hair,
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
, and
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
. The American Atheists said at the time that they planned to build 50 more monuments. O'Hair was incorporated into a popular
urban legend Urban legend (sometimes modern legend, urban myth, or simply legend) is a genre of folklore concerning stories about an unusual (usually scary) or humorous event that many people believe to be true but largely are not. These legends can be e ...
stemming from an erroneous characterization of RM-2493, a proposal made to the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
(FCC) in 1974. The purpose of the proposal was to prevent organizations from making religious broadcasts on stations licensed for educational use. False rumors spread that O'Hair was a proponent of RM-2493, and that its intent was to ban the broadcast of religious services, and the reading of the Bible over the airwaves. The FCC's denial of RM-2493 in 1975, and O'Hair's later disappearance and murder, did little to stem the spread of the legend, which still claimed years later that O'Hair was pushing an active FCC proposal. Subsequent iterations of the rumor included allegations that O'Hair was campaigning to remove Christmas programs and songs from public schools and "office buildings". Other variations mentioned specific religious leaders who were supposedly being targeted for removal from the airwaves, or stated that the television series '' Touched by an Angel'' was threatened with cancellation because of the proposal. Evangelical Christian leader
James Dobson James Clayton Dobson Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American evangelicalism, evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FotF), which he led from 1977 until 2010. In the 1980s, he was ranked as one of the m ...
became falsely associated with the legend as well, purportedly leading opposition to the FCC petition. As of 2015, the FCC was still receiving dozens of correspondences relating to O'Hair every month.


Popular culture

The December 2002 episode " Without a Prayer", of the series '' Forensic Files'', deals with the disappearance and deaths of O'Hair, her son and her granddaughter. The October 2004 episode " Eosphoros", of the series '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'', is loosely based on O'Hair's murder. A 2017
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
movie, '' The Most Hated Woman in America'', is a loose dramatization of O'Hair's life. It focuses on the abductions and killings of O'Hair and two family members in 1995.


Books by or about Murray O'Hair

* * * * * * *


See also

* Charles E. Stevens American Atheist Library and Archives *
List of kidnappings The following is a list of kidnappings summarizing the events of each case, including instances of celebrity abductions, claimed hoaxes, suspected kidnappings, extradition abductions, and mass kidnappings. By date * List of kidnappings befo ...
* List of solved missing person cases


References


Further reading

* * FBI. * * LeDrew, Stephen. ''The evolution of atheism: The politics of a modern movement'' (Oxford University Press, 2015). * Meagher, Richard J. ''Atheists in American politics: Social movement organizing from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries'' (Lexington Books, 2018). * (memoir by her first son after he became a Christian) * * Sasse, Benjamin Eric. "The anti-Madalyn majority: Secular left, religious right, and the rise of Reagan's America" (PhD dissertation,  Yale University ProQuest Dissertations Publishing,  2004. 3125302) How political and religious enemies focused their attack on Madalyn Murray O'Hair. Sasse became a Republican Senator.


External links


1968 debate between Baptist minister Walter Martin and O'Hair
MP3 file
FBI Records: The Vault - Madalyn Murray O'Hair
at fbi.gov
Biography of O'Hair
at Rotten.com *
Madalyn Murray O'Hair vs. Religious Broadcasting at urbanlegends.about.com


An evening with Madalyn Murray O'Hair: 14 September 1977
The Murder of Madalyn Murray O'Hair
America's Most Hated Woman Crime Magazine *
Interview with Madalyn Murray O'Hair
at Texas Archive of the Moving Image {{DEFAULTSORT:OHair, Madalyn Murray 1919 births 1995 deaths 1995 murders in the United States 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century anarchists 20th-century atheists 1990s missing person cases American abortion-rights activists American anarchist writers American atheism activists American Atheist Magazine editors American critics of Christianity American critics of creationism American feminist writers American free speech activists American Holocaust deniers American magazine publishers (people) American people of German descent American people of Scottish descent American political writers American socialist feminists American women critics American women essayists American women founders American women non-fiction writers American writers on atheism Anarcha-feminists Ashland University alumni Atheist feminists Deaths by strangulation in the United States Female murder victims Formerly missing American people Kidnapped American people Militant feminism Missing person cases in Texas People murdered in Texas South Texas College of Law alumni Women's Army Corps soldiers Writers about religion and science Writers from Austin, Texas Writers from Baltimore Writers from Pittsburgh Writers from Toledo, Ohio