Murrow Family Keeps Memory Of Daughter Alive, Waits For Arraignment In Criminal Case

The man accused of hitting and killing UCO student Marissa Murrow will be arraigned in a few weeks.

Malcolm Penney is accused of driving drunk and leaving the scene of the crash back in October 2020.

"She just tried to live life right and live life well," said Marissa's mom Kristy.

Marissa Murrow was 19 when she was hit and killed on the Kilpatrick Turnpike. She was a beloved UCO student and very active in her sorority.

Her parents said their daughter had a way of making people feel seen.

"It wasn't something she was taught it was who she was," said her dad Jeff Murrow.

Marissa Murrow was making a trip home when her life was cut short.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol said the man behind the wheel was Malcolm Penney.

Troopers said he was going the wrong way, and his blood alcohol content twice the legal limit, according to court records.

"This kind of a death is so preventable," said Kristy Murrow.

In 2018, Penney plead guilty to his fourth DUI in just seven years and was serving a deferred sentence out of Louisiana.

Right now, he's facing a second-degree murder charge and leaving the scene of a fatality accident.

"This was so predictable based on his history and preventable many steps along the way that day," said Kristy Murrow.

That feeling is what spurred the Murrow family to file a civil suit against Penney, Penney's ex-wife and a local wedding venue called The Springs.

According to court documents, the car Penney was driving was registered to Amanda Penney, and he admitted to drinking and being at the venue.

In the documents filed by Amanda Penney, she claimed she did not give Malcolm Penney permission to drive her car that night. The Springs are also fighting the suit. 

"We feel like this was not an accident," said Jeff Murrow. "We feel like a lot of things had to come together for this collision to happen."

While the two are waiting to see what happens with both the criminal and civil cases, family and Marissa Murrow's friends have been there every step of the way. 

In order to honor their daughter, the pair helped start a scholarship at UCO in their daughter's name and hope to do advocacy work in the future.

"You want their life to matter, and they don't have a chance to make it matter on their own," said Kristy. "She had so much potential to do so many great things. Since she no longer gets the chance to do that, you struggle to find ways to do that for them."

Malcolm Penney is expected to be arraigned on May 18.

News 9 did reach out to the legal representation for every party in the civil lawsuit but did not hear back.