Former NFL Linebacker Eric Naposki, who played briefly with the Patriots and Colts in 1988 and 1989, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in California on Friday.
Naposki was convicted of murder last year in a case that sounds like it is the plot of a movie. In 1994, Naposki shot and killed William R. McLaughlin at McLaughlin’s home as part of a plot with McLaughlin’s live-in lover/Naposki’s girlfriend, Nanette Packard McNeal (who, naturally, was known as Nanette Johnston at the time).
The two hoped to collect on a $1 million life insurance policy. McNeal later served a year in jail for writing checks on McLaughlin’s account and both of them were suspects at the time of the killing, but it wasn’t until 2009 that authorities were able to get enough evidence to bring murder charges. McNeal has also been sentenced to life in prison.
In one final cinematic twist, Naposki got in a shouting match with McLaughlin’s daughter during a lengthy statement asserting his innocence, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram. He then argued with the prosecutor while being led out of the courtroom.
