A Schuylkill County jewelry store owner was brutally killed Thursday in a New Orleans hotel.

The Times-Picayune reports Patrick Murphy, owner of Murphy Jewelers in Pottsville, Hamburg and Saucon Valley, was found stabbed in the Empress Hotel, two blocks north of the French Quarter. According to reports, he was found by a hotel employee shortly after noon. He was lying on the floor covered in blood and was pronounced dead on scene by EMS.

The New Orleans Police Department has issued an arrest warrant for the suspect, Megan Hall, 25. The charge is second degree murder. According to reports, surveillance cameras show Murphy entering the hotel with Hall just after 2 a.m. She left alone just before 4 a.m.

Patrick Murphy, 62, was the third generation to run the jewelry store.

Murphy Jewelers was founded in 1913, when Frank J. Murphy opened a store in downtown Pottsville, and traveled door-to-door in a horse and buggy repairing school house clocks, according to the store’s Facebook page.

In the spring of 2010, Murphy Jewelers opened its third retail location at the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, located in Center Valley.

Donald R. Serfass, retired from the Times News, remembers interviewing Murphy for a story in the Northeast Pa. Business Journal. “He was upbeat and friendly with a wide, generous smile. A very classy man who treated everyone with respect,” Serfass remembered.

Schuylkill County Commissioner George Halcovage said, “It’s tragic and my prayers go out to his wife and children for strength. I’ve known Pat all my life. He cared about his community, was active in church, served on the school board, chaired the Cancer Society Relay for Life, Chaired Make A Wish ... anytime you needed somebody to assist, to volunteer, Pat always stepped forward.”

“He really cared about Pottsville and Schuylkill County,” Halcovage added.