Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For 2008 Beating Death Of Port Richmond Bartender

By Tony Hanson

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The verdict is guilty and the sentence is life in prison for a 40-year-old man convicted of the baseball bat beating of a popular Port Richmond bartender in January of 2008. The victim stopped at another neighborhood bar for a late night drink and was killed during an argument with the bar manager.

Prosecutor Jude Conroy says defendant John McLaughlin and 60-year-old victim Seamus O'Neill were arguing, a witness says over 'some Irish thing,' and the argument grew loud.

"And it's at that point that John McLaughlin went behind the bar, grabbed an aluminum bat, and then just began to brutally, brutally beat Mr. O'Neill, knocking him out and continuing to strike him."

Conroy says McLaughlin wrapped the body in a tarp, was planning to dispose of it, but the victim's family and friends, looking for the missing man, made the grim discovery in the basement of McWhitey's bar.

O'Neill's family and friends packed the courtroom during the trial. "Seamus just loved life," says his sister, Mary Jeffery. "He lived it to the fullest. He was good to his family. He was good to mankind. He did no one any harm. And he just wanted the best for everyone and you never saw the man without a smile on his face."

Yesterday, the victim's family welcomed justice. "And you know, this month was my brother's favorite month, and St Patrick's day was his favorite day of the year, so there couldn't have been a better month to bring justice for him," Jeffery says.

And after the verdict, the family was headed back to My Blue Heaven, the bar where Seamus O'Neill worked to celebrate his life and justice.