Ex-NFL Linebacker Sentenced to Life in Prison for Newport Millionaire's Murder

A former NFL linebacker who killed his lover's millionaire boyfriend in his Newport Beach home was sentenced to life in prison today without the possibility of parole.

Eric Andrew Naposki,45, was convicted last year for and learned his punishment for the murder at the Orange County courthouse in Santa Ana. Authorities say Naposki's lover, Nanette Ann Packard-McNeal, 46, was romantically involved with both McLaughlin and Naposki, and the pair plotted to kill McLaughlin in order to cash in on his savings account and $1-million life insurance policy. During Naposki's trial, Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy said he had shot McLaughlin six times in the chest.

During today's sentencing today, McLaughlin's daughter, Kimberly, said her father doted on his family.

"Sunday brunches, family dinners, and family vacations. Any excuse to enjoy each other and get that quality time together. And because of Eric's selfish reasons, he decided to take my dad away from us," she said. "Thankfully, there is one thing that [he] cannot take from us no matter what. That is the intense and abundant amount of love my dad gave us all the years we got to spend with him."

Packard-McNeal was found guilty of murder with special circumstances for murder for financial gain in January, and was also sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in May. Naposki was scheduled to be sentenced alongside his former lover, but he refused to appear in court and instead stood in a holding cell while his attorney was granted a continuance. Naposki had hoped to use the time for a new trial and today read a statement in court saying he is not a murderer.

Naposki was convicted of the murder in July 2011, with the panel finding true a special circumstance allegation that Naposki committed the murder for financial gain and that he personally discharged a firearm, which would have made him eligible for the death penalty, although ultimately the state did not seek the death penalty.

Naposki played three games with the New England Patriots in 1988 and one each with the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts in 1989. Packard-McNeal was desribed in court as an Orange County housewife who yearned for the finer things in life including money and expensive cars. McLaughlin's daughters refer to Packard-McNeal as a "black widow" who used men for money.

-City News Service contributed to this report.