Chiropractor James Sowa was fatally beaten to death by Joseph O’Boyle

Bensalem, Pennsylvania, a quiet suburban community just outside of Philadelphia was roiled November 2, 2020, through the brutal murder of a respected health professional and community member.

At around 3:30 p.m. Dr. James Sowa, a 64-year-old chiropractor, was found bleeding and unconscious in his home by his son Alex, who called 911. After rushing to the scene, paramedics determined Sowa was dead.

“It appeared his entire jaw was shattered,” said Dave Nieves, a retired detective with the Bensalem Township Police Department. “There were teeth on the floor.”

“The injuries would indicate to me that this was a violent attack,” Nieves said in the episode “A Minute Changes Everything.” Philly murderBroadcast on Saturdays at 9/8 p.m oxygen.

Investigators found no signs of disturbance in Sowa’s apartment, which also housed his office.

“We assumed it was a very short period of time in which the attack occurred,” said Glenn Vandegrift, adsenior sergeant with the Bensalem Township Police Department.

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Despite the sunny appearance, investigators had to investigate whether “deep, dark secrets” within the Sowa family could have been the reason for the heinous murder, Vandegrift said.

Preliminary interviews at the crime scene with the shocked and grieving family members yielded no immediate clues. The investigators arranged further interviews at the police station for the next day.

“There was no real evidence as to who did this. “In most crimes there is some connection,” Nieves continued Philly murder.

Follow-up interviews with the Sowas helped establish a timeline for the killing. Barbara told police that she went to work and checked in with her husband as usual. She called him at 7:35 a.m. on November 2nd

Alex, who found his father dead, told investigators that he and his wife visited his father every day between 3:30 and 4 p.m

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After being questioned at the station, the Sowas returned to the crime scene with the police. “Kurt kind of volunteered his opinion about what could possibly have happened,” Nieves said of Sowa’s other son.

In one recording, Kurt can be heard saying: “It broke in seconds. The guy was here for a few minutes at most.”

The investigators were surprised. “That raised the flag for us a little bit,” Vandegrift said. “Does Kurt know too many details in this case?”

Kurt’s comments about his father’s ability to physically defend himself also initially surprised the investigators. But after thorough checks, the Sowa family’s alibis were all checked and they were cleared of all suspicion as they mourned their loss.

As the investigation continued, investigators understood Kurt’s expert perspective on the crime. “Kurt was an avid crime watcher,” Vandegrift said.

Investigators see Dr. Something like a patient list and surveillance recordings

Investigators focused on Sowa’s customers. “Could it have been a patient who was dissatisfied with the treatment?” said Deanna Durante, a reporter for NBC10 News in Philadelphia. “Did he have any malpractice claims?”

Investigators learned that Sowa had a patient appointment scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on the day of the murder. The patient told police that she was unable to come to the practice when she arrived for her appointment.

Police continued to search through patient records and moved on to a different line of investigation. The team set out to track down possible surveillance footage from the area.

“If we could capture a vehicle, a person or anything that could lead us in a certain direction in the investigation, that would be helpful,” Vandegrift continued Philly murder.

Police discovered that a camera was trained on the doctor’s home at a beer and soda store within a quarter-mile of the crime scene.

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Investigators reviewed the tape several times. They noted that a figure was seen in the driveway at 8:25 a.m. “The person goes to the doctor’s house, goes in and comes running out 53 seconds later,” Nieves said.

The investigators now had a time stamp as to when the killing took place. As they further examined the video, they saw a white vehicle pull out from behind a shop near the Sowa residence.

Through a careful process using cameras positioned around the streets of Bensalem, investigators tracked the path of the white car. Grainy footage made it difficult to identify the make and model.

Investigators eventually determined the car was a Nissan Altima. An image of the vehicle taken at an intersection showed the front passenger seat covered in a camouflage pattern. However, the driver was not identified.

A suspect is identified

A week after the investigation began, investigators found a picture of the license plate on the suspect’s car. It was registered to 23-year-old Joseph O’Boyle. Investigators learned that O’Boyle was killed on September 14, 2020 by Dr. Sowa was seen just a few months before the chiropractor was killed.

A check of O’Boyle’s criminal record revealed that he assaulted his father in August 2020.

On November 10, 2020, police obtained a search warrant for the O’Boyle residence. Nieves, who knew O’Boyle as a child because he coached basketball in middle school, described the suspect as “high-strung and just robotic.”

During the search, O’Boyle attacked Nieves and had to be restrained by several officers. “I was ordered to go to the hospital to be checked for a possible concussion,” Nieves said Philly murder.

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O’Boyle was arrested for assaulting the detective. During a search of the suspect’s car, a seat cover matching the one shown in the video was found. However, no further evidence was found that could link him to the murder.

“Joey O’Boyle didn’t allow us to interview him,” Vandegrift said. “He was already represented by an attorney, so our case was still circumstantial.”

During a grand jury investigation, O’Boyle’s parents revealed that he had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and was suffering from extreme pain in his jaw.

O’Boyle believed the chiropractor had made his pain worse. Dr. Such fatal injuries affected the head and jaw.

In a recorded press conference from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, the theory of the crime was presented: “Based on the injuries sustained by Dr. Sowa succumbed, instead of an eye for an eye, [it was] a jaw for a jaw.

To learn more about the case, watch the episode “One Minute Changes Everything.” Philly murderBroadcast on Saturdays at 9/8 p.m oxygen.