Long Island Man Admits To Stabbing Roommate, 'Piercing His Heart,' In A Motel Room: DA

LONG ISLAND, NY — A Long Island man admitted to the deadly stabbing of his roommate in his heart inside a hotel room they were sharing, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Tuesday.

Philip Walker, 58, of Mastic, pleaded guilty on Friday to first-degree manslaughter for the stabbing of 63-year-old Jimmy Vaughn, three times with a knife, piercing his heart back in June 2023 at the Shirley Motel.

Walker is expected to be sentenced to 20 years in state prison at his next court date on March 25.

His attorney, Eric Besso of Sayville, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Tierney said Walker's 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," he said.

When paramedics arrived, Vaughn was found outside of the room, bleeding from the left side of his chest and abdomen, and then taken to Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue, where doctors tried, but failed to repair the hole in his heart, according to prosecutors.

He was pronounced dead at around 6:20 p.m., prosecutors said.

Walker, who bolted from from the motel, was arrested by Suffolk police on July 2, 2023, at a family member’s home in North Amityville, according to prosecutors.