Bucks Man Who Killed Chiropractor Gets Up To 74 Years In Prison

BENSALEM, PA — A Bensalem man has been sentenced for the killing of a local chiropractor in late 2020.

James O'Boyle, 23, was convicted of 3rd-degree murder and sentenced to 37 to 74 years in state prison for the murder of Dr. James Sowa, 64, a Bensalem chiropractor, in his home office on Nov. 2, 2020.

O'Boyle had entered a guilty plea to criminal homicide, criminal trespassing, and possession of an instrument of crime related to the murder on May 27. Deputy District Attorney Megan Hunsicker and Assistant District Attorney Christine Sassane presented evidence, including surveillance footage and testimony from several witnesses, to show O’Boyle intentionally killed Dr. Sowa in his chiropractic home office.

O'Boyle had 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 on Nov. 10, 2020, as part of a search warrant, 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.

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.

This case was investigated by Detectives with the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office and the Bensalem Township Police Department. The Bucks County Investigating Grand Jury assisted investigators in this case as well.