20 Years For Long Island Man In 2023 Fatal Stabbing Of Housemate In Heart: DA

LONG ISLAND, NY — A Long Island man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday in connection with stabbing his housemate to death back in 2023, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Philip Walker, 58, of Mastic, pleaded guilty in February to first-degree manslaughter for stabbing 63-year-old Jimmy Vaughn three times with a knife, Tierney's office said.

He said the sentence "reflects the gravity of this senseless violent act."

"While the defendant’s guilty plea acknowledges responsibility for his actions, it does not diminish the tragedy of a life cut short," he said. "Justice requires that we hold all individuals accountable for their violent actions and this sentence ensures just that.”

Patch has reached out to his defense attorney, Eric Besso of Sayville, for comment.

Walker admitted during his guilty plea allocution that on June 30, 2023, at around 5 p.m., he stabbed Vaughn inside a room at the Shirley Motel on Montauk Highway, prosecutors said.

When paramedics arrived, Vaughn was found outside of the room, bleeding from the left side of his chest and abdomen, according to prosecutors.

He was taken to NYU Langone - Suffolk Hospital, which was then called Long Island Community Hospital, in East Patchogue where doctors tied, but failed to repair the hole in his heart, and he was pronounced dead at around 6:20 p.m., prosecutors said.

Walker fled from the motel after the stabbing, and Suffolk police officers arrested him two days later on July 2, at a family member’s home in North Amityville, according to prosecutors.