Murder at Wilmington’s Canby Park: Gary Perkins

In July 2015, Wilmington, Delaware woke up to a crime that stunned the city. The body of Jamie Murphy, 35, was found on a playground slide in Canby Park — a quiet neighborhood suddenly turned into a crime scene. Police quickly named Gary Perkins, her boyfriend and the father of her child, as the suspect. What unfolded next became one of Delaware’s most shocking true-crime cases — a story of domestic violence, warning signs, and tragedy that played out in front of an entire community.

This video breaks down the Gary Perkins case from start to finish: the relationship, the arguments, the night at McDonald’s caught on surveillance video, and the discovery that ended with a murder on a children’s playground. Investigators said Perkins had a history of violence and jealousy — and that this killing was the final step in a pattern no one stopped in time.

Through court documents, police reports, and news coverage from Delaware Online and WHYY, we examine how the case built against Perkins, how DNA and video evidence linked him to the crime, and how the 2017 trial ended with a conviction that would put him behind bars for decades.

Gary Perkins: Murder at Wilmington’s Canby Park tells the real story behind the headlines — not just the crime, but the man, the victim, and the city that still remembers. Wilmington had seen violence before, but this case hit different: a mother taken, a community scarred, and a city asking how it got that far.

👇🏾 Drop your thoughts below — what do you think caused this tragedy, and what story should we cover next?

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