There may be yet another delay in the murder trial of Magen (Megan) Hall, the woman accused of murdering Pottsville businessman Pat Murphy back in 2019.
According to court records, the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office requested a continuance in the trial proceedings on April 5. There’s no indication if the motion to continue was granted.
Hall is in Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans awaiting trial. She’s been there for a little more than 3 years after turning herself in to police after being accused of killing Murphy in late-February 2019.
Numerous factors have led this impending trial to be delayed time after time since then. Scheduling conflicts between the DA’s office and Hall’s attorneys started the battle of dueling date books. Then there was COVID, which shut down most criminal trial activity in Louisiana, and a hurricane, all of which worked to push back the trial date.
Hall was supposed to be in court on Monday for a pre-trial conference before a scheduled April 18 trial. That timeline appears to be in jeopardy at this point.
Hall is facing a mandatory life sentence if she’s convicted of second-degree murder in Murphy’s death. She also faces armed robbery and obstruction of justice charges in connection with the night of Murphy’s death.
Murphy and Hall reportedly rented a room at The Empress Hotel in the Treme section of New Orleans on Feb. 28, 2019.
Police say Hall stabbed Murphy three times at some point during their stay at the hotel, killing him. She is reportedly seen leaving the hotel alone a few hours after they arrived together.
Back on March 12, Hall was arrested and charged with sexual battery as an inmate at Orleans Parish Justice Center.
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