Two men plead guilty
in Holmesburg murder

Two young men pleaded guilty June 12 and were sentenced in an October 2004 murder in Holmesburg.
William McLaughlin, 21, and Thomas Gaither, 17, were charged with the beating death of 45-year-old Lawrence O’Donnell, a resident of Levittown.
McLaughlin, of the 4600 block of Kendrick St., pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, possessing an instrument of crime and conspiracy. Common Pleas Court Judge Jane Cutler Greenspan sentenced him to seven to 15 years in prison.
Gaither, of the Liddonfield Homes housing project in Torresdale, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and theft. Greenspan sentenced him to time served to 23 months in jail, along with five years’ probation.
Both were arrested two weeks after the murder. McLaughlin has remained in jail, while Gaither has been out since March but monitored electronically.
The incident occurred around midnight on Oct. 24, 2004, on the 8800 block Cottage St.
O’Donnell had traveled to the area to buy crack, according to Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Selber. Minutes after the transaction, he realized that the drug dealer had sold him drywall, not crack.
O’Donnell went to his car to get a golf club. He swung the club but was disarmed by a group of about a half-dozen people, including McLaughlin and Gaither.
The victim was punched, kicked and hit on the head with the golf club. He died later that day of his injuries.
McLaughlin, who worked as a roofer, gave a statement to police admitting that he hit the victim with the golf club. There was no strong eyewitness testimony linking Gaither to the beating.
Selber said she agreed to the plea deal because the prosecution could not show an intent to kill, only to injure. Also, O’Donnell died, in part, because he suffered from cirrhosis of the liver.
The suspects never identified the drug dealer or the other people who participated in the attack. ••