Matt Murphy

Jason Balcom Gets Death Penalty Nod from Second Jury for Grisly 1988 Costa Mesa Murder

A Santa Ana jury today recommended the death penalty today for a man who'd been serving a 30- to 50-year sentence for rape in Michigan when he was linked to the 1988 assault and murder of a pregnant, 22-year-old newlywed in Costa Mesa.Jason Balcom, 42, is now set to be formally sentenced by Judge Fr ... More >>

Dr. Phil: "Explosive" Interview Today On Grizzly Costa Mesa-Tied Murders

On today's Dr. Phil show, a 25-year-old Orange County actress accused of being an accessory to a sensational 2010 double murder defends her innocence.But pre-episode publicity hints that the interview with the veteran TV therapist may not have gone too well.In promotional material, a hostile Dr. Phi ... More >>

[UPDATED with Elkus Asks for Lawyer:] Dr. Ronald Franklin Gilbert Shot Dead; 75 y.o. Urology Patient Stanwood Fred Elkus Held

See Update Nos. 2-3 on page 2 with the DA's murder charges, more on the suspect's health, the doctor's treatment of him and the defendant's postponed arraignment this afternoon.See Update No. 1 after the jump with the suspect's mugshot, health woes and more on the physician. ORIGINAL POST, JAN. 29, ... More >>

Killer of Newport Harbor High Wrestling Star Wants A New Trial

In December 2001, Irvine's Tommy Lee McGuire savagely murdered Matthew Large, a onetime Newport Harbor High School star wrestler turned mixed martial arts competitor, and buried his corpse at Stinky Beach in Humboldt County.Five years later, an Orange County jury agreed with homicide prosecutor Matt ... More >>

A Killer of Newport Beach Couple Tied To Yacht Anchor & Thrown Overboard Wins Legal Point

The Ninth Circuit federal appellate court today handed a legal victory of sorts to the lone woman involved in the gruesome 2004 murder at sea of Thomas and Jackie Hawks in hopes of stealing the couple's 55-foot, Newport Beach-based yacht.The panel ruled that U.S. District Court Judge Phili ... More >>

[UPDATED with Jail Release:] Peter Gregory Chadwick, Millionaire Accused of Murdering Wife, Has Charges Reduced

See the update at the end of this post about Peter Gregory Chadwick being released from custody.ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 19, 11:15 A.M.: The spousal murder charges against Peter Gregory Chadwick, the U.K.-born real estate investor whose name fits his monicled-millionaire status, have been reduced, accord ... More >>

Eric Andrew Naposki, Ex-NFL Linebacker, Draws a Penalty: Life in Prison for 1994 Murder

In the days leading up to today's sentencing hearing, Eric Andrew Naposki told anyone who would listen he did not murder a wealthy Newport Beach businessman in 1994--and plenty of media outlets obliged the former NFL linebacker.But it was justice, prosecutor Matt Murphy and the family of the late Bi ... More >>

[UPDATED with Charges, New Details:] Christian Marie Murray, OC Homicide No. 24: Thomas Michael Wilhelm Held in Girlfriend's Slaying

See Update No. 4 at the end of this post detailing the charges against Thomas Michael Wilhelm, which include the allegation he stole the murder weapon from a neighbor.See Update No. 3 identifying the victim as Christian Marie Murray and providing her business profile.See Update No 2 providing more d ... More >>

[UPDATED with DA Charges Shalabh Rastogi:] Jalina George, OC Homicide No. 18: Husband Held for Strangulation Murder

UPDATE, MAY 23, 12:31 P.M.: Irvine's Shalabh Rastogi is being held without bail pending a scheduled arraignment in Santa Ana today on charges that he strangled and murdered his wife in the apartment they shared with their three children, prosecutors announced.The 39-year-old finance worker faces one ... More >>

Rodney Alcala Can't Block New York Extradition

The California Supreme Court Wednesday denied serial killer Rodney Alcala's request to block his extradition to New York, where he is accused of murdering two young women in the 1970s.Prosecutors in New York City filed extradition papers after Alcala, who is sitting on California's death row, was co ... More >>

Friday's Dateline NBC Targets Newport Beach Murder By Ex-NFL Linebacker

The good folks at Dateline NBC have announced plans to air their "mystery" Friday night about the ex-National Football League (NFL) player convicted last year for the cold-case ambush murder of an ultra-wealthy businessman in Newport Beach.I covered the trials of Eric Naposki--the big mouth, former ... More >>

Nanette Packard Guilty of 1994 Newport Beach Murder of Wealthy Businessman

​Accused murderer Nanette Ann Packard entered a hushed Santa Ana courtroom this afternoon from her holding cell and, if her frown and slouching shoulders were any indication, didn't believe she'd be receiving happy news.Packard's instincts were right. During a hearing that lasted nine minutes, an ... More >>

Eric Naposki Murder Sentencing Delayed

​Former New England Patriot's linebacker Eric Naposki, now a convicted murderer, took a break from his seemingly continual jailhouse network TV interviews to appear today in court, where he asked that his punishment be delayed until May 18.Naposki entered Superior Court Judge William Froeberg's co ... More >>

Orange County Courthouse Quote of the Day!

Pool photograph by Paul Bersebach/OC RegisterPackard: But I'm "a good mom"​"He was perfect for Nanette. He was very rich. Why was he so perfect? He was gone three days a week. What better person to cheat on? You've got no eyes watching you and you can cheat on him over and over and over again."--O ... More >>

Nanette Packard: Ready for Her Close-Up?

[Moxley Confidential] The criminal defendant hopes to convince a jury she's a greedy slut—but not a murderer

Eric Naposki: "Not One Bit" of Evidence Proves I Am A Murderer

Naposki: I wear size 14 boots!​If all you knew about the sensational 1994 murder of a wealthy Newport Beach businessman was based on what you heard last night on CBS "48 Hours," you might sympathize with the convicted killer in the case: ex-NFL linebacker Eric Naposki. Dressed in street cloth ... More >>

CBS "48 Hours Mystery" on Saturday Features OC Murder By Ex-NFL Linebacker Eric Naposki

Pool photo by The Orange County RegisterNaposki​For all of you wondering what a murderous, ex-NFL buffoon sounds like should tune into CBS's "48 Hours Mystery" on Saturday night.The hour long show will focus on Eric Naposki--a former Indianapolis Colt and New England Patriot turned dirt poor Orang ... More >>

OC's Scariest People 2011

Celebrating the Day of the Dead with some of the county's worst offenders

Walter Lawrence Dalie Returns to OC as Suspect in 1978 Murder of Laguna Beach Architect Brent Tobey

​A Connecticut man has left that storm-battered part of the country and is expected in sunny Orange County on Labor Day. But 52-year-old Walter Lawrence Dalie didn't pack sunscreen, boardshorts and a Grisham novel. He's moving from a state prison cell to OC Jail lockup.Extradited first by the U.S. ... More >>

Letters From OC Weekly Readers

Eric Naposki's Rocky Murder Picture Show

[Moxley Confidential] Ex-NFL player hoped a crime-scene photo would save him from a homicide conviction

[UPDATED with Unusual Defense:] Emily and Father Russell Ford, OC Homicides Nos. 12 and 13: Her Ex-Husband Held

​UPDATED, JULY 15, 12:30 P.M.: 36-year-old Robert Allan Lehmann is due at Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach today for a preliminary hearing tied to the murder counts he faces for allegedly executing his former wife and father-in-law in May.It will be lonely at the defense table as a judge las ... More >>

[GUILTY!] Eric Naposki's Verdict Shines Spotlight on Newport Beach Police Department Heroics

OC Register media pool photoProsecutor Matt Murphy nabs another murderer​In most respects, today was a typical day in Orange County: Surfers hit Pacific Ocean waves under a cloudless sky. Shoppers crammed into South Coast Plaza. The notorious 55 freeway wrecked people's schedules. Excited tourists ... More >>

Eric Naposki's Murder Defense Botched Chance Today To Exonerate The Ex-NFL Linebacker

OC Register media pool photoDefense lawyer Gary Pohlson has one last chance to explain away Naposki lies​On the same day that a prosecutor questioned why a supposedly innocent murder suspect decided to engage in "mind f-ing the police" who were attempting to solve the crime, a defense lawyer for t ... More >>

Eric Naposki's Murder Prosecutor Slams Defense Lawyer Tactics

OC Register media pool photoNaposki: Thinks the case against him is laughable​"He's got the suit. He's got the hair. He's got the watch and the shoes. He's a master in his style . . . [He] sounds great but there's absolutely no substance . . . Maybe that works in New York."That was Matt Murphy, a ... More >>

Eric Naposki's Murder Alibi Defies Einstein's Space-Time Continuum

OC Register media pool photoNaposki has a surprise for Albert Einstein​Nobody alive saw Eric Naposki enter William McLaughlin's Newport Beach house, fire six hollow-tip bullets into the wealthy businessman's torso and flee the murder scene on Dec. 15, 1994. Nobody found McLaughlin's blood spatters ... More >>

Eric Naposki Defense Puts Gun in Co-Conspirator's Hands

OC Register media pool photoAngelo MacDonald​To divert juror attention away from their client as a cold-blooded murderer, Eric Naposki's defense team today summoned a witness who testified that he saw Naposki's alleged co-conspirator, Nanette Johnston, practice shooting firearms in the months befo ... More >>

Eric Naposki Lawyer Slams Police For Arresting an Innocent Man

OC Register media pool photoMacDonald blames shoddy police work for his client's arrest​In a 64-minute opening statement, Eric Naposki's defense lawyer told an Orange County jury that "common sense" proves the former NFL player could not have gunned down a Newport Beach millionaire because evidenc ... More >>

William McLaughlin's Killer Was Dead Serious, OC Coroner Says

Naposki booking photo​Whoever killed Newport Beach millionaire William Francis McLaughlin definitely wanted him dead, according to testimony today in the trial of Eric Naposki, a former NFL player accused of murdering McLaughlin in a plot with the victim's fiancee.Just after 9 p.m. on Dec. 15, 199 ... More >>

Eric Naposki Murder Trial Gets Brutal and Then A Funny Man Takes The Witness Stand

Angelo MacDonald​You've probably never heard of Kevin Ross Johnston, but this guy should be a witness in every murder trial.Why?Not because Johnston--a tall, natty, silver-bearded fellow with a quick, hearty laugh--has any known criminal expertise. Well, sure, there are those speeding tickets and ... More >>

Eric Naposki Defense Hints At Better Shooter Suspects

Johnston and Naposki at the time of the murder​In his best chance so far to dominate Judge William Froeberg's Santa Ana courtroom on behalf of murder defendant Eric Naposki, New York-based defense lawyer Angelo MacDonald spent nearly five hours today working diligently to undermine the prosecution ... More >>

Accused Killer Eric Naposki Finally Gets a Positive Plug in Day 4 of his Murder Trial

OC Register pool photoNaposki​It took four days of trial, but a witness finally made positive comments about accused killer Eric Naposki, the former professional football player, who is charged with gunning down a Newport Beach businessman in a 1994 plot to steal part of the man's estimate $15 mil ... More >>

Eric Naposki Murder Trial Wins Laughter in Day 2

OC Register pool photoA tame second quarter for Eric Naposki​I wish I could have yesterday back in the case of the People of California versus Eric Naposki, and not just because of mid-morning indigestion from a rubbery courthouse cafeteria blueberry muffin.On Monday, the trial's opening day, Napo ... More >>

Key Fact May Doom Eric Naposki in Newport Beach Murder Trial

Oops. The killer left this key at the crime scene​In Day 3 of Eric Naposki's murder trial, jurors learned several damning, pro-prosecution facts, but the ex-NFL player still managed to deliver a big, confident wink at his girlfriend who was in the public seating section of Judge William Froeberg's ... More >>

Eric Naposki Killed Bill, DA Tells OC Jury

H. Lorren Au Jr. / Orange County RegisterLosing first quarter for Eric Naposki?​Eric Naposki, a onetime star professional football player, couldn't hide his contempt this afternoon during the prosecution's opening statement that ended with a confident prediction that jurors will hold him "accounta ... More >>

Daniel Wozniak's Jailhouse Closeup

[Moxley Confidential] The actor and double-murder defendant's appearance on MSNBC's 'Lockup' has one victim's dad crying foul

Serial Killer Sues Two OC Deputies for Spitting Incident

Alcala wants $250 from deputies​Though he's sitting on death row in California's notorious San Quentin State Prison, serial killer and rapist Rodney James Alcala isn't done complaining about his treatment in Orange County. This month, Alcala filed his 17th lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court.H ... More >>

Christopher Michael Sheehan, Accused of Killing Partner in Armed Robbery, Parole Opposed by DA

Ed Deuel​UPDATE, MAY 4, 4:21 P.M.: The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations' Board of Parole Hearings today denied parole for Christopher Michael Sheehan, who has been rotting in a San Luis Obispo cell for the 1985 murder of his partner in armed robbery and attempted murder of ... More >>

[UPDATED with Board Denial:] Parole for Lawrence Rayburn Cowell, Who Threw Buddy Out of Plane, Doesn't Fly With Rackauckas

UPDATE, APRIL 26, 5:30 P.M.: The Board of Parole Hearings, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations today denied parole for Lawrence Rayburn Cowell.He will be eligible for his next parole hearing in 2016.The board heard opposition to the 62-year-old's parole on double 25 years to ... More >>

Parents of the Murdered Use Candles, Flowers and Words to Keep Memories of Fallen Loved Ones Alive

​An organization that supports survivors, friends and families who have lost their loved ones to violence held their 19th annual ceremony Sunday evening that they hope will increase public awareness about victims' rights. Prior to the 6 p.m. Candlelight Vigil and Names Dedication Ceremony at Mem ... More >>

Eric Naposki, Ex-NFL Player, Will Face Jury For Murder

Naposki: Suit up, boy. It's game time!​One-time linebacker for the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, Eric Naposki had been hoping that an Orange County judge would dismiss the murder case against him and an ex-girlfriend in the gun slaying of a wealthy Newport Beach businessman.Defense ... More >>

Defense In Murder Case Against Ex-NFL Player Cries 'Illegal Procedure!'

[Moxley Confidential] Was the cold-case homicide of William McLaughlin cold for so long that exculpatory evidence disappeared?

Sunday News Notes

News highlights include:Relax, sir. It's only .000034 percent of your wealth.​Is OC's Biggest Billionaire Stingy?Two of Donald L. Bren's children are expected to take their father to court this week in Los Angeles in hopes of winning $800,000 in retroactive monthly child support payments because, ... More >>

Rodney Alcala's Murderous Romp Through Polite Society Brings Him to an Orange County Courtroom Again

[Moxley Confidential] A Former NFL Player and His Girlfriend Stand Accused of a 1994 Murder

Lady Killer

An OC jury ponders this question: Who is the right-handed man who murdered Minnie Smith?

Saturday's Headlines & Surprises: One Down in Murder at Sea Case

Inaction Action! In their hunt for additional pay and perks, Orange County sheriff’s deputies flexed their muscles again Friday by delaying the transfer of incustody folks to court for criminal hearings. The, if you will, inaction action is designed to frightened county supervisors at the negotia ... More >>

'Fags Die' Killer Wins Court Point

Party animal/prostitute/tree trimmer Gregory Pisarcik had hoped an OC jury would see him as the victim of his, well, dead victim, a retired gay INS agent. It didn't work out that way. More and more, juries here aren't buying the "gay panic" defense, and now the 28-year-old killer is in prison. But g ... More >>

"Hey, DA: Interview These Guys!"

Did man tied to dead informant lie to police? New witnesses say yes

A Perfect Crime

If police informant Andrea Nelson was murdered, prosecutors say they cant prove it