A Port Jefferson teenager who was livestreaming himself driving a stolen SUV while high on marijuana pleaded guilty this week to killing a 73-year-old Centereach woman in a crash that also left her passenger with a lasting brain injury. Matthew Papile, now 18, admitted in court to aggravated vehicular homicide and a string of related charges tied to the May 4, 2024, wreck that ended Marion Napolitano's life.
Papile was 16 at the time, driving a stolen 2008 Land Rover LR2 while impaired by marijuana and broadcasting the ride live on Instagram, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. He slammed into the rear of Napolitano's 1994 Toyota Corolla, sending her car off the road, the DA's office said. Napolitano was rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Passenger Left With Traumatic Brain Injury
Napolitano's front-seat passenger was also hospitalized after the crash and suffered a traumatic brain injury, per the district attorney's office. Two years later, that passenger remains seriously injured, the same account states. Newsday, which also covered the plea, reported that the passenger was seriously hurt in the collision, as Newsday detailed in its own account of the case.
After the crash, Papile tried to flee the scene on foot, according to the district attorney's office. Three Good Samaritans, including an off-duty Suffolk County police officer, chased him down and held him until authorities arrived, the same source said.
Guilty Plea Covers Eight Charges
Papile entered his plea Tuesday before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen Kerr, admitting to aggravated vehicular homicide, second-degree manslaughter, aggravated vehicular assault, second-degree assault, leaving the scene resulting in death, criminal possession of stolen property, driving while impaired by drugs and reckless driving, the district attorney's office said. Because he was 16 at the time of the crash, Papile was tried as an adult, per the same source.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Papile's guilty plea reflected an unacceptable decision to drive an impaired, stolen vehicle recklessly. Tierney said Papile's choices were selfish, lethal and ruined lives, according to the district attorney's office.
Sentencing Set for October
Papile is due back in court on Oct. 15, 2026, when the district attorney's office says he is expected to be sentenced to six to 18 years in prison. The precise final term has not yet been handed down.
The case echoes a 2017 California prosecution in which 18-year-old Obdulia Sanchez pleaded not guilty to felony charges, including gross vehicular manslaughter, after livestreaming the moments before and after a crash that killed her 14-year-old sister, as the Los Angeles Times reported at the time. Sanchez lost control of her car north of Los Banos, crashing through a wire fence before it rolled into a field; another 14-year-old passenger was seriously injured, and Sanchez faced up to 13 years and eight months in prison if convicted, that outlet noted.
