The Holbrook man convicted in December in the drunk driving homicide of a 12-year-old Boy Scout hiking with his troop in Manorville in 2018 had his sentencing date adjourned again yesterday in Suffolk County Criminal Court, according to online court records.
Thomas Murphy, 60, is now due to appear in court on July 31, following the fourth adjournment of sentencing.
Murphy was convicted on a slew of charges stemming from the September 2018 crash that claimed the life of Andrew McMorris of Wading River and injured three other boys who were on a Sunday afternoon hike with their Boy Scout Troop in Manorville.
Murphy struck the Scouts on David Terry Road shortly after 2 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2018, after he had been drinking at Swan Lake Golf Club in Manorville since about 9 a.m., according to trial testimony. He refused to take breath and blood tests and, after prosecutors obtained a warrant authorizing a blood draw, a chemical test revealed he had a blood alcohol content of 0.13 percent — more than one and a half times the legal limit — approximately four hours after the crash.
Following a nearly six-week trial, after one day of deliberations, a jury on Dec. 18 returned a guilty verdict on all nine charges brought by prosecutors, including multiple felonies: Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, Manslaughter in the Second Degree, Assault in the Second Degree, Vehicular Manslaughter in the Second Degree, two counts of Vehicular Assault in the Second Degree; misdemeanors Driving While Intoxicated, Assault in the Third Degree, Reckless Driving, and Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree.
He faces a maximum sentence of eight and one-third to 25 years in prison.
Murphy, free on a $500,000 bond, was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21. The sentencing was adjourned to March 27, but by then the pandemic had disrupted the criminal justice system across the state. Murphy’s sentencing date was again postponed to May 20, then to June 26 and then, yesterday, to July 31.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
