Murderer Found in Coopersburg Motel, Gets Life Without Parole

A man convicted in a 2008 murder in Philadelphia and first taken into custody at a Coopersburg motel was sentenced last week to life in prison without parole. 

John McLaughlin, 40, was the manager of Whitey's bar in Philadelphia's Port Richmond neighborhood when an argument broke out Jan. 3 between McLaughlin and Seamus O'Neill, 60, a Philadelphia bartender with roots in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 

According to an article in the Belfast Telegraph, witnesses say the argument broke out over "some Irish thing" and escalated quickly. The article goes on to state that McLaughlin went behind the bar, grabbed an aluminum baseball bat and beat O'Neill to death. McLaughlin then proceeded to take the corpse to the basement, wrapping it in tarp and duct tape, intending to dispose of the body. 

Family members found O'Neill's body in the basement of Whitey's bar the following day. McLaughlin went on the run and was found by police a week later in Coopersburg at the

McLaughlin was sentenced March 5 by Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart.

According to court records, McLaughlin was convicted of:

• Murder in the first degree
• Criminal conspiracy-abuse of a corpse
• Possession of an instrument of crime with intent
• Abuse of a corpse