Patrick Murphy Stabbing in New Orleans: Charges, Plea, and Sentence

The Patrick Murphy stabbing in New Orleans took place in the early morning hours of February 28, 2019, when the 62-year-old Pottsville, Pennsylvania jeweler was killed in a room at the Empress Hotel in the Treme neighborhood. Megan Hall, a 25-year-old woman from Munford, Tennessee, was arrested days later. She was originally indicted for second-degree murder, and in July 2022 she pleaded guilty to manslaughter, armed robbery, and obstruction of justice under a plea deal, receiving a 25-year sentence with 15 years suspended.¹

What Happened at the Empress Hotel

Murphy was in New Orleans with his wife after attending a jewelry convention in Arizona.² Hotel surveillance captured him arriving at the Empress Hotel with Hall at about 2:10 a.m. on February 28.³

Around 3:30 a.m., guests in the next room reported hearing a man and woman arguing, followed by roughly two minutes of what sounded like a struggle. One witness heard a woman shout, “Get in the bathroom.”⁴ Cameras showed Hall leaving the room alone at 3:42 a.m. and walking out of the hotel. No one else was seen entering or exiting between the two of them arriving and the body being found.³

A housekeeper discovered Murphy’s body just before noon. He had three stab wounds, all on the front of his body: one to the neck and two to the abdomen. Police classified the death as “homicide by cutting.”⁵ Investigators believed Hall left with some of Murphy’s possessions, though specific items were not publicly identified.³

Arrest, Indictment, and Original Charges

By the end of the day on February 28, New Orleans detectives had identified Hall and obtained a warrant for second-degree murder.⁶ She was arrested on March 3, 2019, and held at the Orleans Justice Center on a $750,000 bond. Hall had prior prostitution arrests in New Orleans, Nashville, and Houston.⁷

On June 13, 2019, an Orleans Parish grand jury indicted Hall on three counts: second-degree murder, armed robbery, and obstruction of justice.⁸ A conviction on the murder count alone carried a mandatory life sentence under Louisiana law.⁹

At a preliminary hearing that March, defense attorney John Fuller argued Hall had no intent to harm Murphy when she went to the hotel. He noted she used her real name and ID at check-in, and said wounds to the front of the body were consistent with a face-to-face confrontation rather than a planned attack. The magistrate commissioner found probable cause to hold Hall on second-degree murder, observing that the charge does not require proof of planning or motive.¹⁰

Why the Case Took Three Years

Trial dates slipped repeatedly. An early 2020 continuance moved the trial to March of that year, then the Louisiana Supreme Court’s pandemic moratorium on jury trials pushed it further. Hurricane Ida recovery in 2021 added more delay.¹¹

While she waited at the Orleans Justice Center, Hall appeared in the second season of the Netflix series Jailbirds: New Orleans. On the show she said she had come to New Orleans for Mardi Gras to “party” before a “situation occurred.”¹¹ Robert Carl, CEO of the Schuylkill County Chamber of Commerce and a close friend of Murphy’s, called the show “disturbing” and said he was “baffled” that anyone would give notoriety to a person charged with murder while the family awaited trial.⁷ The Orleans Public Defenders and other justice organizations issued a joint statement calling the series an “abhorrent misuse of the Sheriff’s time.”

The Plea Deal and Sentence

On July 18, 2022, in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, Hall pleaded guilty under an agreement with the district attorney’s office. The second-degree murder count was amended to manslaughter, and she pleaded guilty to that reduced count along with armed robbery and obstruction of justice.¹

Judge Nandi Campbell sentenced Hall to 25 years on each count, to run concurrently, with 15 of those years suspended. That left an effective sentence of 10 years at hard labor. With credit for roughly three years already served since her March 2019 arrest, Hall had less than seven years remaining at the time of sentencing.¹² The suspended portion can be reinstated depending on her behavior in custody.²

A Separate Jail Charge That Was Dropped

Before the plea, Hall picked up an additional charge behind bars. Prosecutors alleged that on January 31, 2022, while she was housed at the Orleans Parish Justice Center, Hall and another inmate held down a third woman while a fourth inmate sexually assaulted her. Hall was charged with sexual battery on March 12, 2022, on a $15,000 bond, and denied involvement.¹³

The prosecution dropped the charge after Hall failed to appear at a January 6, 2023 pretrial conference. No official reason for the dismissal was given. As of January 2023, Hall was incarcerated at the Louisiana Transitional Center for Women in Tallulah, Louisiana.¹⁴

Who Patrick Murphy Was

Murphy was a third-generation jeweler who ran Murphy Jewelers, a family business his grandfather founded in Pottsville in 1913. With his wife Kim, he grew the shop into a three-location chain with stores in Pottsville, Hamburg, and the Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania.¹⁵ He served 20 years on the Pottsville Area School Board, chaired the Pottsville Parking Authority, sat on the board of Good Samaritan Hospital, and led the local Relay for Life for 15 years.¹⁶ Friends and colleagues called him a pillar of the Pottsville business community.¹⁷

1
NOLA.com. Woman Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in Killing of Pennsylvania Businessman
2
Reading Eagle. Killed Pottsville Jeweler Sentence
3
WDSU. Woman Indicted for Murder, Armed Robbery in Stabbing Death of Pennsylvania Jeweler
4
The Morning Call. Detective: Jeweler Patrick Murphy Was Stabbed Three Times in New Orleans Hotel Room
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NOLA.com. New Orleans Woman Stabbed Pennsylvania Businessman 3 Times in Treme Hotel, Detective Says
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NOPD News. Person of Interest Sought in Homicide on Ursulines
7
The Morning Call. Megan Hall, Woman Charged in Murder of Pottsville Jeweler Patrick Murphy, Featured on Netflix Show
8
National Jeweler. Suspect Indicted for Murder of PA Jeweler in New Orleans
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Republican Herald. Patrick Murphy’s Alleged Killer Appears on Netflix Series
10
Lehigh Valley Live. In PA Man’s Death, Woman Did Not Go Into the Hotel With Any Intent to Harm, Her Lawyer Says
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PhillyVoice. Magen Hall, Jailbirds New Orleans Netflix, Patrick Murphy Pottsville Jeweler Stabbed
12
Republican Herald. Hall Sentence Could Be as Short as 10 Years in Stabbing Death of Pottsville Jeweler
13
The Morning Call. Court Documents Detail the Sexual Assault Charges Against Woman Accused of Killing Jeweler Patrick Murphy
14
Republican Herald. Sexual Battery Charge Against Killer of Pottsville Jeweler Dropped
15
Murphy Jewelers. About Us
16
J.E. Humphrey Funeral Home. Patrick Murphy Obituary
17
Republican Herald. Community Leaders Remember Patrick Murphy