Dallas County Public Defender's chief investigator arrested and charged with wife's murder

DALLAS - The chief investigator for the Dallas County Public Defender's Office has been arrested and charged with murder after Dallas police found his wife stabbed to death inside their downtown apartment, according to court documents released Saturday.

Jimmy Spurger Arrested

What we know:

Jimmy Harold Spurger Jr., 54, was taken into custody Saturday morning and booked into the Lew Sterrett Jail on a first-degree murder warrant.

According to an arrest affidavit, Dallas Fire-Rescue first responders arrived at an apartment in the 2323 block of North Akard Street around 10:40 p.m. Friday to conduct a welfare check. After knocking with no answer, emergency personnel forced entry into the residence, where furniture had been placed behind the door to block access.

Once inside, first responders found 52-year-old Maria Teresa Spurger lying unresponsive on a couch with a knife lodged in her neck. She died at the scene.

Responding officers also found Spurger sitting on a bed in the bedroom, covered in blood, with a small knife lying next to him. Multiple empty pill bottles covered in blood were also located in the kitchen, according to the arrest affidavit.

Spurger, who did not respond to initial questions from first responders, was taken to Methodist Central Hospital after police suspected he had ingested multiple pills. Investigators noted that Spurger and his wife had been married for approximately 35 years.

According to court documents, Spurger filed for divorce from his wife on Oct. 26, 2026.

What we don't know:

The motive for the murder remains unclear.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Detective C. Johnson #11543, at 214-671-3584 or at chanesia.johnson@dallaspolice.gov.

Public Defender's Office

Dig deeper:

Spurger has served as the chief investigator for the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office for the past 11 months, leading the department's Investigative Division. 

Prior to his current role, he spent more than 13 years with the public defender's office, primarily in the Capital Murder Division, and worked for more than 20 years in law enforcement, including a decade supervising investigations in the Child Abuse and Family Violence Division for the Dallas County District Attorney's Office.

What they're saying:

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Spurger has been suspended from his job.

In an interview on FOX 4's "Dallas News Live," Chief Public Defender Christi Dean said her thoughts are with the couple's children and grandchildren during this difficult time.

"Jimmy has been an exemplary colleague. It's hard to imagine that he has been charged with murder. But I will say, you know, we know in our profession that the probable cause affidavit doesn't tell the whole story. The media reports don't tell the whole story. And we're still in preliminary stages," Dean said.

Spurger is being held at the Dallas County jail on a $1 million bond.