Headlines

Guilty Plea in Jeweler’s Stabbing Death: Tennessee Woman Admits to Manslaughter

She avoided a count of second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence in Louisiana.

Published

1 year ago

July 21, 2022

INSTORE Staff

A Tennessee woman has pleaded guilty in connection with the 2019 stabbing death of 62-year-old jeweler Patrick Murphy in a New Orleans hotel room.

Megan Hall, 28, admitted to manslaughter and other charges, the Reading Eagle reports. She now awaits sentencing.

The plea was entered in New Orleans Criminal Court. The other charges to which she admitted were armed robbery and obstruction of justice.

The charges were part of a plea agreement that allowed Hall to avoid a count of second-degree murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence in Louisiana, according to the Eagle.

Murphy was the owner of Murphy Jewelers, which has three stores in eastern Pennsylvania.

New Orleans police homicide detective Patrick Guidry testified at a preliminary hearing in March 2019 that Murphy had been killed by three stab wounds — one to his neck and two to his abdomen.

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”