Serious Questions About Empress Hotel, Scene of Patrick Murphy Murder

Some get what they pay for at New Orleans’ Empress Hotel. But it’s where Patrick Murphy paid the ultimate price.

That’s the location police say Megan Hall killed Murphy in the early morning hours of Feb. 28.

They accuse Hall, a previously convicted prostitute, of second-degree murder. Right now, 25-year-old Hall is in an Orleans County jail awaiting a preliminary hearing.

During that hearing, we’ll likely hear what happened that night at Empress Hotel in the Treme section of New Orleans.

But now, we’re getting a glimpse into where Hall took Murphy’s life.

Inside the New Orleans Empress Hotel

Check out this walk-through video one disgusted guest posted on YouTube almost 4 years ago.

“We didn’t stay here one night. We got here and we got out,” the person behind the camera says.

In this video, you can see one long narrow hallway on one floor of the building. Presumably, Murphy and Hall had a room on the second floor. Or, they retreated there at some point during their brief stay at Empress to smoke on the balcony.

Here’s another video posted by a delivery driver in 2011. You can see him walking down the hallway of the hotel second floor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po7JkmtOTxU

While the hallways of the Empress don’t look too bad, it’s a different story inside the rooms.

This guest says the smoke detector wouldn’t stop beeping so the hotel just took it off the wall.

He also says there are holes in the wall and door to the room.

And, the window didn’t lock.

It gets worse in the bathroom.

That’s where other guests heard Hall scream to Murphy to get the night of his death. She yelled, “Get in the bathroom!” just before leaving the hotel.

Cracked tile floors lead to a rusted, cracked tub. There are holes in the wall in there, too.

There’s even a message inside the bathroom door. Clearly, it’s not the first time a prostitute brought a client there.

According to the Empress Hotel guests who posted this video, their cab driver did a double-take when they told him where they’re going:

The Empress Hotel Reputation and the Patrick Murphy Murder

So, why show all this? How does this tell us any more about the case than what’s been said or not said so far.

Well, consider the only things we know about this case happened here. And the story we’ve been told in the days since from the people who were allegedly at the Empress Hotel that night are a little too convenient.

Now, to this point, Hall is the only suspect in this case. Here’s how the Empress Hotel has played into the storyline:

• Surveillance footage and eyewitness accounts allegedly have Murphy and Hall briefly enter the hotel and then leave.
• They re-enter and rent the room. It’s booked in Hall’s name but Murphy pays.
• The owner of the Empress Hotel says Hall and Murphy retreat to the second floor balcony over the hotel’s entrance to smoke a cigarette.
• Apparently, after that alleged cigarette, things got tense. Other guests report hearing a loud argument coming from the room. Someone is clearly heard saying, “Get in the bathroom!” Presumably, they were yelling at Murphy.
• Hall is seen “briskly” leaving the hotel just before 4 a.m. the night Murphy died. She is the only person seen leaving the hotel between then and when hotel staff see Murphy.

What’s Not Adding Up

Now, think about why this all doesn’t make a lot of sense. Could there have been someone else in that room with Hall and Murphy? Consider these situations which could damage any defense Hall’s legal team is planning.

• The reputation of the hotel owner: Let’s not assume he’s telling the truth. In media interviews the same day Murphy was killed, he looked rather calm. Maybe this sort of thing is commonplace in New Orleans but there are no other murders linked to the Empress, at least in recent history.
• The reputation of the hotel staff: Remember, in the days after the killing, the Canary dug through some old Yelp.com reviews of the Empress. The one thing consistent among all of them is the fact that, if you left your room and the hotel, you had to surrender the key at the front desk. One guest at the Empress suspects they do this to rent your room to crackheads so they have a place to get high.
• The selective hearing of Empress Hotel guests: Guests tell police they hear a loud argument but the only words they clearly hear are “Get in the bathroom!” Take a look at the walls of an Empress Hotel room. How does someone hear one line so clearly but can’t hear anything else?

So, take that all into account. A convenient story told by people who can’t be trusted. And a hotel that’s willing to give away your room key is so willing to hand over surveillance tape to police?

Then, think about this: Hall was seen leaving the hotel briskly. Murphy died of stab wounds, so he presumably bled to death in his room. We’ve seen the size of the rooms at the Empress. How does Hall (or someone else) not track blood through the hotel and how is there no blood visible on her? Did someone else enter the room when Hall and Murphy step out for a smoke?

This Thursday, we’ll likely hear what defense Hall is planning. Will she say she killed Murphy in self-defense? Will she say someone else hatched a plan to lure a target like Murphy to the room?

PAT MURPHY MURDER CASE FULL COVERAGE

• Funeral Arragements for Patrick Murphy Announced
• What Will Megan Hall Say in Defense of Killing Patrick Murphy?
• “Get in the Bathroom!” Last Words Pat Murphy Likely Heard
• Will the DA Seek Lesser Charges in the Death of Patrick Murphy?
• Murphy Murder Suspect Arrested Sunday in NOLA
• Schuylkill County Residents Trolling Pat Murphy’s Alleged Murderer on Facebook
• Murphy Murder Suspect Has Illicit History, Faces 2nd Degree Murder
• Pottsville Expressing Grief Over Pat Murphy’s Murder
• Pottsville Businessman Pat Murphy Murdered in New Orleans