On Monday evening, a winner of America's Got Talent was arrested and charged with domestic abuse, reports The Charleston Gazette-Mail, per People. Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., who reigned victorious on the competition talent show in 2011, allegedly had a physical altercation with a woman at his home resulting in her being sent to the hospital for injuries.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the Logan County Magistrate Court in West Virginia, his home state, Murphy and the woman were in a verbal argument that turned physical. He then allegedly hit the woman with a golf club, resulting in injuries on her head and face. The 42-year-old and woman also share a 6-month-old son together, who also present at the time of the alleged domestic violence, according to the complaint. The complaint also states that the woman had swelling and bruising due to Murphy slapping her and slamming her head into the concrete sidewalk in front of his home.
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On Tuesday, Murphy’s manager, Burke Allen, emailed a statement to The Charleston Gazette-Mail about the arrest, claiming that Murphy was the one who was attacked. In the statement, Murphy refers to the woman as his girlfriend and says that she attacked him with a golf club and knife.
“In defending myself, she obtained some bruises and swelling on her face,” he said in the statement, via his manager. "I did not strike her." He alleges that the woman had trashed his property in his home, something she has done before in the past, and that is what initiated the argument.
"I was raised to respect women, and if not provoked and feeling I was in danger, I would never have defended myself in this manner," he said in the statement.
He added: "I apologize to my fans everywhere and to the people of Logan County and West Virginia for this incident. It should never have happened."
If you are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or TTY 1-800-787-3224 for confidential support.
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