Ellen Murphy was the wife of Detroit Police Officer Alex Murphy. The couple had a son, James Murphy. They resided at Primrose Lane. After getting reports that RoboCop was frequently driving by Primrose Lane for unknown reasons and looking at the house for sale which had formerly been the Murphy residence, Mrs. Murphy found the truth about her husband. In RoboCop 2, she visited RoboCop when he was recuperating in his chair. She told Robocop that she knew about what they have done to her husband, but Robocop lied, saying that he was not Alex J. Murphy, and that his face was synthetically made in honor of Murphy. This caused Mrs. Murphy to burst into tears, and Robocop watched with sadness as she drove away and left him forever.