NEW YORK — A New York man who owned a popular neighborhood pub and had ties to the local crime scene has been sentenced to death.
The New York State Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced Timothy J. Murphy to die in prison for the 1994 slaying of a 16-year-old boy.
Murphy’s attorneys argued the death penalty would be the appropriate penalty for Murphy, a white man with no criminal record who had a reputation for drunken brawling and occasional fights with neighbors.
Murph’s attorney, Michael B. Fishel, said his client was innocent.
Fishel said Murphy had been diagnosed with multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia and had no history of violence.
Murich had been a part-time bartender at the popular Sparrows Ale House on West 42nd Street and had been convicted of killing a man who lived nearby.
A jury found Murphy guilty of murder in the slaying of James W. Sparrow, and a jury in 1999 acquitted him of rape and other charges.
The Sparrow murder remains unsolved.
In 2006, Murphy’s wife and son were shot dead by their brother-in-law.
They were both killed in a hit-and-run.