Bucks Man Pleads Guilty To Killing Chiropractor: DA

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A Bensalem man has pleaded guilty to the murder of a local chiropractor that took place in November of 2020.

James O'Boyle, 23, entered a guilty plea to criminal homicide, criminal trespassing, and possession of an instrument of crime related to the murder of Dr. James Sowa, 64, a Bensalem chiropractor, in his home office.

Dr. Sowa was found dead at his home and chiropractic office, located at 3161 Hulmeville Road, on Nov. 2, 2020. His body was found in the kitchen, but blood was found throughout the home and in his business office.

The investigation, which was conducted by Detectives with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and the Bensalem Township Police Department, with the assistance of the Bucks County Investigating Grand Jury, found that O'Boyle entered Dr. Sowa's chiropractic office on the day of the murder, without an appointment, and attacked Dr. Sowa by hitting him three times on the back of the head with a blunt object, with two of those strikes fracturing his skull.

Investigators determined that O'Boyle repeatedly struck Dr. Sowa in the area of his jaw with a blunt object or rammed his jaw area with a blunt object; these strikes proved to be fatal.

Records from Dr. Sowa's office showed that O'Boyle had been a patient of his in September of 2020. Relatives said O'Boyle said he was upset about the treatment he received that day for jaw pain; he told family members that he wanted to sue the doctor for making his pain worse.

Surveillance cameras in the area showed O’Boyle walking up the driveway to Dr. Sowa’s home around 8:32 a.m.; he was seen walking out of the house less than a minute later, leaving in a white Nissan Altima.

According to investigators, when O'Boyle's father approached his son about Dr. Sowa, he admitted to killing him.

Detectives used a search warrant to enter O'Boyle's home on Nov. 10, 2020. A suitcase full of clothes was observed in his room.

O’Boyle also pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of recklessly endangering another person, resisting arrest, and simple assault related to the assault of a Bucks County detective who was looking into the murder case. When detectives entered his home, he lunged at one detective, repeatedly punching him in the head. The detective received medical treatment and went through the protocol for a possible concussion.

President Judge Wallace H. Bateman Jr. oversaw the plea. A hearing for O'Boyle is set for June 6.