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Thomas Murphy, 62, of Holbrook, was sentenced to a term of 8 ⅓ and 25 years in prison on Wednesday, Sept. 30, two years after a crash in Manorville that took the life of seventh-grader Andrew McMorris of Wading River.
Specifically, Murphy was found guilty last December by a jury of:
- Two counts of aggravated vehicular assault;
- Two counts of second-degree vehicular assault;
- Two counts of third-degree assault;
- Reckless driving;
- Manslaughter;
- Assault.
Murphy had also been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, first-degree vehicular manslaughter, first-degree vehicular assault, and driving while intoxicated, though those charges were dropped when his lawyers argued that those charges require a driver have a blood alcohol content greater than .18 percent, and it was argued that Murphy’s was closer to .13 percent.
Murphy was drinking with three friends at the Swan Lake Golf Course in Manorville in September 2018, before getting into his Mercedes, veering off-road about a mile from the course and crashing into Scouts on David Terry Road. In the crash, 12-year-old Andrew McMorris was killed and three others were injured.
Murphy initially refused to submit to a breathalyzer and investigators had to obtain a warrant from a judge to collect his blood.
According to reports, Murphy’s defense lawyers intend to appeal the sentence, and have requested a term of between one and four years in prison. Check Daily Voice for updates as the appeal unfolds.
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