Credit: White Pine police
A Philadelphia woman was sentenced last week to state prison for the October 2023 slaying of a 72-year-old man who had taken her into his Wrightstown Township home.
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Meghan Macklin, 48, was sentenced to 21 ½ to 50 years behind bars by Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Wallace Bateman last Monday.
Macklin pleaded guilty in February to third-degree murder, theft, and multiple related charges in the death of Richard Scott MacFarland. Macklin also pleaded no contest to abuse of a corpse.
“The victim died a very violent death,” Bateman said during the sentencing.
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The investigation began Oct. 7, 2023, when Newtown Township police launched an investigation after MacFarland’s body was found inside his Wrightstown Township home, which was up for sale at the time.
An autopsy later determined MacFarland died from multiple stab and slash wounds.
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At the sentencing hearing, prosecutors revealed a bizarre and senseless motive for the killing. A former cellmate of Macklin at the Bucks County Correctional Facility testified that Macklin confessed to attacking MacFarland simply because he woke her up to ask for help finding a shoe.
According to the cellmate, Macklin said she wanted to sleep, grew enraged, and stabbed MacFarland repeatedly even after he fell to the ground.
Deputy District Attorney Christine Sassane said MacFarland had offered Macklin a place to live, companionship, and support, only to be met with a tragic betrayal.
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“Her sleep was more precious, more important, than the victim’s life that day,” Sassane said.
Investigators testified that Macklin attempted to cover up the crime before fleeing.
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Detectives found that MacFarland was killed in a bedroom, but his body was later cleaned, dressed, and moved.
Police recovered a bloody rug, blood-stained bedding, and clothing at the scene alongside Macklin’s personal items.
Credit: Submitted
The two had a friendly but occasionally volatile relationship, authorities said.
After the killing, Macklin ransacked jewelry boxes, stole MacFarland’s checkbook, and fled the state in his black 2013 Mercedes-Benz with plans to escape to Mexico, according to testimony.
Police in White Pine, Tennessee, intercepted Macklin in the stolen luxury vehicle later that same day.
Bodycam footage played in court showed Macklin attempting to evade arrest by claiming to be Janet MacFarland, the victim’s deceased wife, and presenting the dead woman’s Social Security card.
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A search of the vehicle yielded stolen jewelry, coins, and identification cards. Forensic testing later matched MacFarland’s DNA to latex gloves found at the house and a pair of Crocs shoes discovered inside the Mercedes.
“Today’s sentence brings a long overdue measure of justice for Richard Scott MacFarland and his family,” Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan said in a statement, crediting the coordinated efforts of local police, county detectives, and Tennessee law enforcement.