Man Accused Of Brutally Murdering New York Firefighter In His Barnegat Light Home Pleads Not Guilty

TOMS RIVER - The man accused of the brutal murder of a retired New York City firefighter stood silently before Ocean County Superior Court Judge James Blaney recently and let his lawyer do the talking, according to app.com.

Conrad Sipa's lawyer, Daniel M. Rosenberg, entered a not guilty plea on Sipa's behalf earlier this week. Family, friends and fellow New York firefighters packed the courtroom.

Sipa, 52, was indicted in February on charges of murder, hindering apprehension, tampering with evidence and multiple weapons offenses in connection with the death of Richard Doody Jr., a Staten Island resident who owned a vacation home in Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island.

Doody was so severely beaten with a golf club that his skull was fractured and he was nearly decapitated when his neck was slashed, according to nj.com

Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Meghan O’Neill had tried to keep Sipa's bail at $1 million cash bail. But he has been out on bail since last year.

Doody was struck so hard with the golf club that the graphite neck of the club split, and his neck was severed “so severely that his trachea was cut through and through,” O’Neill has said.

Sipa, Colts Neck, also returned to the home several times by cleaning up around Doody’s body, authorities said.
O’Neill said Sipa’s fingerprints were found in Doody’s bloody home.

Sipa’s E-Z Pass records show he went to Doody’s home before and after the murder, she said.

Doody's fellow members of FDNY Ladder 84 on Staten Island filled the benches of the courtroom this week. Doody's family, including his wife, sat in the first row.

"He (Sipa) snuffed out a million smiles that people aren't going to have now," a friend said. "He (Sipa) snuffed out a million jokes, half of which people would have laughed at. And you know what, Richie's attitude was so positive and so uplifting and fun-loving, there's probably a hundred to 200 young people that will never be inspired by his attitude about life."

Doody met Sipa through a scuba diva group that traveled to many remote diving locations. As many as 40 people would go on the trips, including Doody's wife, Virginia "Ginny" Murray.

Authorities have not said what drove Sipa to allegedly kill Doody.

But Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Meghan O'Neill has said that Sipa went to great lengths to try and cover up the killing by cleaning up around Doody's body.
The murder took place sometime between Nov. 21, 2015 and Nov. 23, 2015.

Rosenberg declined to comment after Monday's arraignment. He told Blaney his office did not have a chance to review all of the discovery. O'Neill said the prosecutor's office granted the defense attorneys six more weeks to review it.

Sipa is due back in court on April 17.

Image: Patch file photo.