Magen Hall appeared before a Louisiana judge Wednesday as she awaits her murder trial for allegedly killing Pottsville businessman Patrick Murphy back in 2019.
But she left court, in a way, without one key thing: a trial date.
According to public records out of Orleans Parish, Hall appeared virtually in court Wednesday with her attorney John Fuller for a pre-trial conference. It was the second pre-trial conference in October for Hall, who faces a second-degree murder charge for allegedly killing Murphy back in February 2019.
Assistant District Attorney Matthew Derbes represented the state on Wednesday.
Hall, a previously convicted prostitute, allegedly stabbed Murphy in a hotel room the two rented for the night at The Empress Hotel in New Orleans’ Treme section. She was seen on surveillance video leaving the hotel alone several hours after arriving with Murphy. A hotel housekeeper discovered Murphy’s body later that morning.
Recently, Hall appeared in the Netflix miniseries Jailbirds: New Orleans. In that 3-episode series, Hall briefly discusses the events that led her to be incarcerated in the Orleans Parish Justice Center but really only says that she was in New Orleans that night back in 2019 with friends from Memphis to celebrate Mardi Gras.
Murphy was in New Orleans at the same time with his wife.
At the end of Wednesday’s proceedings, a judge scheduled another pre-trial conference for Nov. 10. It’s only the latest setback since a trial date had been tentatively scheduled for Sept. 27. The COVID pandemic has been responsible for much of the delays on the way to a trial in this case. Hurricane Ida also played a role in pushing back a trial date.
If convicted on the second-degree murder charge, Hall faces a mandatory life sentence. She’s also been charged with armed robbery and obstruction of justice.
Check out our full coverage of the Magen Hall murder trial and Pat Murphy’s killing.
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