State Correctional Institution-Huntingdon — Reported Origin Of Threatening Letter
A retired California attorney and a Pennsylvania state prison inmate are facing criminal charges in two separate cases after prosecutors say they threatened five Bucks County Common Pleas judges over the past year. Timothy Alexander Murphy, 70, of Oakland, and Joseph D. Supik, 35, an inmate at State Correctional Institution-Huntingdon, were both charged on Tuesday in unrelated cases that converged on the same target: the bench in Doylestown.
Emails Threatened a Judge’s Life and Retention Election
According to investigators, staff for a Bucks County Common Pleas judge received threatening emails in December 2025 that referenced the judge’s upcoming retention election and lifespan, with a follow-up email sent the next day, December 12. As reported by NBC10 Philadelphia, investigators traced the messages to a Yahoo account belonging to Murphy, a former California attorney. He was charged with terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another and arraigned on Tuesday, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for November 2.
Murphy’s case is being handled separately from Supik’s within the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, with Detective Timothy Johnson and Deputy District Attorney Megan Stricker assigned to Murphy’s prosecution, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office. Investigators have not disclosed whether federal or California authorities assisted in serving Murphy, and that detail remains unresolved.
An Inmate’s Letter Targeted the Judges Who Sentenced Him
In the second case, the Bucks County Clerk of Courts received a letter postmarked July 6, 2026, from State Correctional Institution-Huntingdon containing threats against four Common Pleas judges, the station’s report states. Investigators determined Supik sent the letter, and all four judges named in it had previously presided over his earlier criminal cases in Bucks County. Supik now faces four counts of retaliation against a judicial official and four counts of terroristic threats with intent to terrorize another…