Philly woman charged with stabbing to death and stealing from 72-year-old widower

A Philadelphia woman who authorities say fatally stabbed a 72-year-old widower, ransacked his home for valuables, and fled to Tennessee in his stolen Mercedes convertible, posing as his late wife, was charged with murder Wednesday.

Meghan Macklin, 45, faces charges of first- and second-degree murder, robbery, abuse of a corpse, and related crimes in the stabbing death of Richard MacFarland, of Wrightstown, last October, Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said at a news conference Wednesday.

She was arrested in White Pine, Tenn. on Oct. 7, 2023, the same day MacFarland was found dead in his home. It is unclear when Macklin will be extradited to Bucks County.

Police found MacFarland with multiple defensive wounds along with cuts to his stomach that left his intestines exposed, according to the criminal complaint filed against Macklin.

Macklin, authorities said, had tried to cover up her crime by moving MacFarland’s body away from the crime scene and dressing him in clean clothes to hide his wounds.

His body was discovered by a man interested in buying MacFarland’s home on Apple Hill Road who discovered that the main door of the house was open and saw him lying on his back between the living room and kitchen, according to the complaint. When officers arrived, they noticed dried blood around MacFarland’s nose and three slash and puncture wounds on his arms that they identified as defensive wounds, authorities said.

Investigators found a rolled-up bloody rug in one of the bedrooms, along with blood-soaked clothes and bedding stuffed into suitcases hidden throughout the house, the complaint said. Police also found a checkbook stripped of its checks and jewelry boxes that had been rummaged through, according to the complaint.

One suitcase contained loose coins and ziploc bags with coins, authorities said. Another bag had clothing, a loose ring, a broken cell phone, and prescription bottles with Macklin’s name, authorities said.

Macklin, Schorn said Wednesday, had a volatile relationship with MacFarland and the widower was “vulnerable” to her influence.

Three days before MacFarland’s body was found, police were called twice to his home for domestic disturbances.

Shortly after 1 a.m. Oct. 4, 2023, police arrived for a report of a physical dispute and saw that MacFarland had a laceration on his forehead, the complaint said. A witness said Macklin had overpowered MacFarland and beaten him, authorities said. Later that day, Macklin called police and told them MacFarland had threatened to kill her, which he denied, the complaint said.

On Oct. 7, 2023, police in White Pine, about 600 miles from MacFarland’s home, encountered Macklin after a convenience store employee reported her for not paying for food, the complaint said. When police spoke to Macklin, she identified herself as MacFarland’s late wife, Janet, who died in 2019, showing officers a stolen Social Security card and checks in the name of the late wife, the complaint said.

After the story Macklin told to officers shifted, they found the Mercedes convertible and identified it as stolen.

When investigators searched the car, they found bank checks and deposit slips in Janet MacFarland’s name and identification cards for Janet and Richard MacFarland. They alsofound a pair of Crocs with Richard MacFarland’s DNA on them.