Philip Walker, of Mastic, pleads guilty to fatally stabbing housemate James Vaughn
Philip Walker is led to his arraignment in 2023. Credit: James Carbone
A Mastic man who stabbed his housemate to death during a disagreement in a Shirley motel room in 2023 has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Authorities said Philip Walker, 58, entered the plea before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis on Friday and is expected to be sentenced to 20 years in prison at sentencing on March 25. Walker had been charged with second-degree murder and faced 25 years to life if convicted at trial, authorities said.
The district attorney’s office said Walker had a long history of arrests and told Suffolk police detectives after his arrest that he was "seeing red at the time of the altercation" and "may have stabbed the victim."
Authorities said Walker admitted during his plea hearing that he was guilty of stabbing housemate James Vaughn, 63. They said he stabbed Vaugh three times with a knife — including, once in the heart — during a fight at the Shirley Motel on Montauk Highway at about 5 p.m. on June 30, 2023.
Prosecutors said a witness saw Walker enter and exit the hotel room around the time Vaughn was found bleeding to death outside the room. Law enforcement officials arrested Walker days later at a family member's house in North Amityville.
At arraignment, prosecutors said Walker had four prior felony convictions for drug-related offenses — along with 29 prior misdemeanor convictions.
Those had resulted in frequent stints in custody over a span of decades, prosecutors told the court at the time.
Authorities said said that once found, Vaughn was transported to Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue, where doctors attempted to repair a hole in his heart. The procedure failed and Vaughn was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. that day, authorities said.
In a statement Tuesday, Suffolk District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said: "This conviction ensures accountability for a senseless act of violence that claimed a life. While no sentence can bring the victim back to his friends and family, I hope that they can find some solace knowing that his killer was held criminally responsible for his actions."
With Grant Parpan and Darwin Yanes
A Mastic man who stabbed his housemate to death during a disagreement in a Shirley motel room in 2023 has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.
Authorities said Philip Walker, 58, entered the plea before Acting State Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis on Friday and is expected to be sentenced to 20 years in prison at sentencing on March 25. Walker had been charged with second-degree murder and faced 25 years to life if convicted at trial, authorities said.
The district attorney’s office said Walker had a long history of arrests and told Suffolk police detectives after his arrest that he was "seeing red at the time of the altercation" and "may have stabbed the victim."
Authorities said Walker admitted during his plea hearing that he was guilty of stabbing housemate James Vaughn, 63. They said he stabbed Vaugh three times with a knife — including, once in the heart — during a fight at the Shirley Motel on Montauk Highway at about 5 p.m. on June 30, 2023.
Prosecutors said a witness saw Walker enter and exit the hotel room around the time Vaughn was found bleeding to death outside the room. Law enforcement officials arrested Walker days later at a family member's house in North Amityville.
At arraignment, prosecutors said Walker had four prior felony convictions for drug-related offenses — along with 29 prior misdemeanor convictions.
Those had resulted in frequent stints in custody over a span of decades, prosecutors told the court at the time.
Authorities said said that once found, Vaughn was transported to Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue, where doctors attempted to repair a hole in his heart. The procedure failed and Vaughn was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. that day, authorities said.
In a statement Tuesday, Suffolk District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said: "This conviction ensures accountability for a senseless act of violence that claimed a life. While no sentence can bring the victim back to his friends and family, I hope that they can find some solace knowing that his killer was held criminally responsible for his actions."
With Grant Parpan and Darwin Yanes
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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