Murbarger was 18 when he killed Megan Nichols in July 2014. Nichols went missing that month, and her remains were discovered in December 2017. Murbarger was arrested in October 2020 and charged with three counts of first-degree murder: suffocation, strangulation, and by means unknown.
A Wayne County jury found Murbarger guilty on all three counts after approximately one hour of deliberation. The trial court sentenced him to 50 years in prison with three years of mandatory supervised release.
On appeal, Murbarger challenged the trial court's denial of his change of venue motion and request for an expert to conduct a phone survey of Wayne County residents. He argued extensive pretrial publicity, including coverage by Dateline NBC and negative social media comments, made it impossible to find an impartial jury. The trial court denied both motions, finding that voir dire could identify fair jurors and that of 36 social media comments reviewed, 11 were favorable to Murbarger or supported due process, while only 16 indicated prejudice against him. After jury selection, Murbarger renewed his change of venue motion, which was again denied.
The appellate court affirmed the conviction but vacated the convictions and sentences on counts I and II under the one-act, one-crime rule, since there was only one victim. The court also noted that in an amended motion to reconsider sentence, Murbarger had argued his sentence violated the proportionate penalties clause and requested an evidentiary hearing under People v. Harris to determine whether Miller v. Alabama sentencing protections should apply to him as an 18-year-old offender.