October 2023

New York State’s  highest court will not hear an appeal in the case of a man convicted in the killing of Boy Scout Andrew McMorris. 

Dated October 6th 2023, Judge Michael J Garcia of the New York Court of Appeals, denied an application filed by Murphy's defense team seeking to have his conviction overturned after previously being denied by a lower appeals court. 

We feel relief that the verdict has been upheld and we have found Justice for Andrew and Troop 161. We hope this will end the criminal chapter of the case now that the state’s highest court affirmed the conviction.  

For our family, there is still an emptiness we feel each day. Andrew will never walk through the door again.  He will not graduate with his friends this coming June and there is a deafening silence that echoes from his empty room.  A loss felt not only by our family but his young friends who are coming of age now. A loss detailed in a song written by his close friend Carter Rubin Season 19 winner of the voice, “Plane Ticket to Heaven”.  

We cannot forget Andrew or any of the victims of these senseless preventable crimes. Every 39 minutes another person is killed by a Drunk Driver in the United States and that is the highest number since 2006 – the year Andrew was born. This Appellate decision has lifted an enormous weight from myself, John and our daughter Arianna and maybe now we can do the work necessary to try and heal this indelible scar. We will continue  to find ways to honor our sweet boys short life through the Andrew McMorris Foundation and MADD in order to change legislation so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

July 2023

It is with great relief that we announce that the NYS Supreme Court District 2 Appellate Division in Brooklyn, upheld the conviction of the defendant in Andrew’s death. The four-judge panel were unanimous in their decision on Wednesday, July 26th, 2023, and ruled that each of the claims is "without merit." Appeal has been denied. There will be no new trial or any reduction in the defendant’s sentence.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney issued this statement:

"I am gratified that the appellate court has upheld the conviction of Thomas Murphy for the senseless and tragic death of Andrew McMorris," said District Attorney Tierney. "I hope this decision will provide a small measure of closure for the McMorris family. Thank you to the Assistant District Attorneys who fought for this victory at trial and on appeal. This should not be the end of the story. This tragedy should serve as a reminder to everyone that we need to be vigilant to prevent drunken driving and the resulting devastation it causes.

Statement from the McMorris Family:

On behalf of John, Alisa and Arianna McMorris along with the Lane & Lynch families including Thomas & Denis Lane and Kayden Lynch and all the Scout families affected by this horrific and preventable crash – we are relieved to have the appellate decision today.

Andrew was taken too soon from this life, and it is sometimes hard to find the right words and when we find ourselves stuck, we are reminded of the words spoken at Andrew’s funeral. “This is not how it should be; this is not how it could be; but this is how it is.”

Our hearts continue to ache every day because Andrew should still be here.

Today’s decision puts an end to an enormous weight that we have been living with. We hope now that we may move forward in our grief journey. Let it be a reminder that our choices have consequences. There are no winners in this story. We have all lost and ours has been a life sentence with the loss of our sweet, beautiful boy. We hope that this decision will strengthen our vehicular laws and propel us forward to making meaningful changes in our son’s name and parenting his legacy together.

We are so grateful to the Suffolk County’s District Attorney’s Office for their support and guidance throughout the horrific trial and appellate process. We have always had confidence in their ability and want to personally thank the Assistant District Attorney’s that worked tirelessly for justice.

We also would like to thank our family, friends and community for all of their love and support. We all could not have survived without you.

We will continue to work with MADD New York, New Jersey, & Pennsylvania who supported us at our darkest time and the Andrew McMorris Foundation to change our antiquated laws and give justice to those affected by these 100% preventable crimes.