Pregame Show
A decade and a half after a wealthy Newport Beach manNs murder, his girlfriend and a former NFL player stand accused of the killing
Chains wrapped around his wrists and ankles, ex-NFL player and accused murderer Eric Naposki shuffled noisily into an Orange County courtroom this month. The former New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts linebacker cocked his shaved head to the right, put a sour expression on his face and sighed as he sat near his alleged co-killer, Nanette Packard McNeal. Or was it simply boredom that Naposki wanted to project for an overflow audience that included producers for ABCNs 20/20, CBSNs 48 Hours and NBCNs Dateline?
ThereNs no mistaking what is attracting the network news magazines to the cold-case 1994 ambush murder in an exclusive, gated Newport Beach community yards from the slamming waves of the Pacific Ocean. In addition to the aforementioned arrogant jock, thereNs William Francis McLaughlin, the loveable, ultra-wealthy victim who seems to have misjudged the character of his live-in girlfriend, McNeal, a serial thief addicted to high-end South Coast Plaza shopping and cheating with a ripped, 6-foot-2, 240-pound pro-athlete-turned-bouncer.
In the early 1990s, McNeal landed McLaughlin with a personal ad that stated, “I know how to take care of my man if he knows how to take care of me.” McNeal, who didnNt have a penny of her own prior to the murder, received the proceeds of a $1 million life-insurance policy upon McLaughlinNs death.
The trial, which could start as early as spring, should ooze drama. It took 15 years for a detective to chase down abandoned leads and make dramatic arrests in May. Count on four feisty defense attorneys to challenge that work and blame dimwitted cops for permanently botching the investigation early on. Representing the state is Matt Murphy, a lanky veteran homicide prosecutor whose youthful appearance and gentle demeanor belie stone-cold tenacity.
The two-day preliminary hearing in Judge Robert C. Gannon Jr.Ns courtroom demonstrated that emotions on both sides are still raw. Family and friends of McLaughlin, who was shot six times by an intruder as he made a sandwich in his kitchen on Dec. 15, 1994, were visibly relieved that justice could be so close. They wore buttons with McLaughlinNs picture.
Those supporting the defendants—particularly McNeal—didnNt hide their frustration. During presentations by Murphy, theyNd routinely roll their eyes, moan, and look at one another and shake their heads.
Defense lawyers have been vocally contemptuous of the case, as well. Gary Pohlson, a seasoned pro who represents Naposki, seemed exasperated that prosecution witness Thomas A. Voth, one of the Newport Beach police detectives on the case, answered MurphyNs questions while relying on a notebook that hadnNt been supplied to the defense. Pohlson got Voth, who is now retired, to concede that in the years since the killing, the district attorneyNs office rejected filing charges against McNeal and Naposki after opining that the circumstantial evidence against the pair wasnNt strong enough to win convictions.
While Pohlson soberly probed for new evidence, public defender Michael Hill, McNealNs lawyer, treated Voth like a schoolkid who hadnNt finished his homework. A large, witty man with a booming voice and a thick Irish accent, Hill was incredulous that police now reject the Naposki-McNeal alibi: that the two couldnNt have killed McLaughlin because they were 40 miles away attending a youth-soccer match in Diamond Bar. The public defender annoyed the court stenographer with his continual rapidfire questions. But there was no doubt he frustrated Voth more.
After getting the detective to admit that the pre-murder time line “to the minute” is crucial in the case, he asked a series of questions, each of them ending in a “no”: Other than one adult couple, did you interview any of the kids or other parents at the soccer match to confirm or challenge when Naposki and McNeal claimed they left on the night of the murder? Did you interview any of the referees to determine when the game and trophy ceremony ended? Did you search to see if any parents videotaped the game and possibly captured images of those watching? Did you think a man whoNd lost a bitter, multimillion-dollar business litigation with the victim could be involved in the killing?
“Slow down,” the judge told Hill at one point.
“I get excited,” he replied, smiling.
On day two of the hearing, Hill asked Larry Montgomery—the acclaimed DANs investigator whose work led to the arrests—if Newport Beach police had “adequately” investigated the alibi in 1994 and 1995, when recollections were fresh. Montgomery sat silently on the witness stand for 10 or 12 seconds.
“The record should note the pause, judge,” Hill said.
“I think that more could have been done,” the detective finally answered. “However, not enough information was available [at the time] to determine if that was a valid alibi or not.”
Murphy acknowledged that HillNs questioning “seemed impressive,” but he pegged it as meaningless. Based on the 911 call by the victimNs son, who was home at the time of the killing, the murder likely happened within a minute or two of 9:09 p.m. McNeal told police in her first interview that she and Naposki left the game at 8 p.m. Two eyewitnesses who saw the couple there say they left no later than 8:20 p.m.—still “plenty of time” to make the 35- or 40-minute drive (depending on traffic) to the murder scene, according to the senior deputy DA.
ItNs law enforcementNs theory that McNeal dropped off Naposki at his apartment in Tustin so that he could take his own vehicle to McLaughlinNs or she drove him straight there. Either way, cops believe McNeal established an additional fraudulent alibi by buying a vase at Crate N Barrel inside South Coast Plaza 20 minutes after Naposki fired six 9 mm shots into the 55-year-old McLaughlin, and then fled 250 feet away to his job as a bouncer at the Thunderbird nightclub (now closed) in Lido Village. That night, Naposki arrived at work late for his 9 p.m. shift.
While the defense claims Murphy doesnNt “have a scintilla of evidence,” the prosecutor introduced non-exculpatory evidence including:
• Montgomery found a new eyewitness who claims Naposki told her prior to the killing that he wanted McLaughlin dead.
• Though Naposki and McNeal had combined assets worth no more than a couple of thousand dollars, they were observed repeatedly shopping together before the murder for a large, million-dollar-plus home in IrvineNs exclusive Turtle Rock area.
• The killer obtained a key to silently enter McLaughlinNs home.
• Naposki had recorded McLaughlinNs license-plate number in a notebook he kept in his vehicle.
• Though police hadnNt publicized the caliber of the murder weapon, Naposki distanced himself from owning a 9 mm handgun, the type used by the killer. Eventually, Naposki admitted he had owned a Beretta 9 mm, but, he claimed, heNd given it to a friend prior to the murder; that friend denied the story, claiming he was given a .380 caliber handgun, which contained the “exact same brand” of ammunition used by the killer.
• McNeal asked people not to tell police about her romance with Naposki.
• In the hours surrounding the murder, McNeal forged $350,000 in checks from McLaughlinNs bank account to herself.
“As soon as Bill McLaughlin realizes that Nanette is stealing from him, INm going to go out on a limb and bet that their relationship is not going to be healthy,” said Murphy. “The evidence is overwhelming that these two people conspired and murdered him.”
CNN-featured investigative reporter R. Scott Moxley has won Journalist of the Year honors at the Los Angeles Press Club; been named Distinguished Journalist of the Year by the LA Society of Professional Journalists; obtained one of the last exclusive prison interviews with Charles Manson disciple Susan Atkins; won inclusion in Jeffrey Toobin’s The Best American Crime Reporting for his coverage of a white supremacist’s senseless murder of a beloved Vietnamese refugee; launched multi-year probes that resulted in the FBI arrests and convictions of the top three ranking members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department; and gained praise from New York Times Magazine writers for his “herculean job” exposing entrenched Southern California law enforcement corruption.
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