Drunk driver guilty of killing Boy Scout

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. - Overcome with emotion, Alisa and John McMorris said they are relieved justice has been served. Their son Andrew, a 12-year-old Boy Scout, was hiking on the side of the road with his troop in Manorville when he was killed by a drunk driver in 2018.

After a contentious five-week trial, a jury found Thomas Murphy, the driver, guilty on all counts including aggravated vehicular homicide.

"God bless the DA's office and the jury for seeing what really happened that day," John McMorris said. "To speak the truth and let the truth prevail. God bless the DA's office, the jury, the Boy Scouts of America and the Shoreham-Wading River community."

For weeks, prosecutors shared evidence with the jury of five women and seven men that illustrated Murphy was too drunk to drive.

However, his defense attorney, Steven Politi, adamantly argued his client wasn't legally intoxicated at the time of the crash and the blood sample was improperly taken, stored and analyzed.

Murphy walked out of the courtroom without commenting. But Politi said his client was upset by the outcome and plans to appeal the decision.

"We disagree, we thought it should've been not guilty. We don't think the people proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt but the jury thought otherwise," Politi said. "There are, in our opinion, of things that were not done properly." 

Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said he hopes the verdict will provide closure for the family. 

"It was everyone's fault except Thomas Murphy's. He got a wakeup call today. The jury didn't buy it," Sini said. "He was convicted of all counts and that conviction will remain intact no matter how many appeals Mr. Murphy wants to file."

Murphy is free on bail. A court date for sentencing has been set for Jan. 21. He faces a maximum of 25 years.