Philly Homicide promotional poster (Image via Oxygen)

Where is Maurice Day now? Details explored ahead of Philly Homicide on Oxygen

Modified Oct 25, 2024 18:45 GMT

Oxygen's Philly Homicide, which premieres this Saturday, October 26, will bring to us the case of Maurice Day, among several high-profile homicide cases in the Philadelphia region. Maurice, who was found guilty of murdering Chester police Cpl. Michael Beverly, is serving a life sentence in prison.

Philly Homicide will recount 10 killings that gripped the region in hour-long episodes with archival footage, detective interviews, and cinematic recreations. Running for ten episodes, each episode will cover a new case.

As of now, Oxygen has only revealed the focus for the show’s first three episodes, which cover the killings of a Chester police officer, a Center City radiology technician, and a Bensalem chiropractor. The show is hosted by Bucks County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Chris Mullen and will air new episodes every Saturday at 9 PM.

What did Maurice Day do? Where is he now?

On October 16, 2001, Chester police Cpl. Michael Beverly was found shot dead in the Highland Gardens section of Philadelphia, and a year later, on October 12, 2002, the police arrested Maurice Day for the murder. According to an Inquirer report from the time, Beverly was discovered 10 feet from his unmarked cruiser with his service weapon still holstered.

At the time of his death, Beverly was working as a night shift supervisor. According to investigators, he had stopped at a local restaurant to pick up a meal for Edwina Cottman, Maurice’s mother, whom he had befriended.

Maurice Day at that time was allegedly associated with the neighborhood’s Boyle Street Boys drug gang and faced criticism from his friends over how often Beverly was over at their house to see his mother. Prosecutors alleged that Maurice killed Beverly as the officer delivered food to his mother so as to end the teasing, taunting, and ridiculing that he constantly received, Deputy District Attorney James Mattera said.

Maurice Day was ultimately found guilty of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life without parole in March 2004. During the trial, Mattera testified that Maurice was waiting for Beverly and ambushed him. Beverly’s twin sister, Michelle, told The Inquirer that her family “accepted the jury’s verdict.” Maurice is currently in prison, serving a life sentence.

Maurice later made an appeal to overturn his first-degree murder conviction, but Delaware County Senior Judge Charles C. Keeler denied it. Assistant District Attorney Michelle Hutton, who handled the appeal for the district attorney’s office, claimed that the defendant’s claims of ineffectiveness of counsel lacked merit.

As per a report by the Daily Times, during his initial trial, Maurice Day had also made an attempt to escape through an opening in his jail cell at the courthouse. But he was captured within minutes by the sheriff's deputies, and on the same day, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder. Since the panel could not agree on imposing the death sentence, he was sentenced to life without parole by Judge Keeler.

About Day's victim Michael Beverly

Michael Beverly was 36 years old at the time of his death. According to The Inquirer, he left behind a wife and five children and is remembered as a “conscientious officer” and a “hard-nosed street cop who made good, clean busts,” by Wendell N. Butler Jr., commissioner of the Chester Police Department. During his funeral, about 1,000 mourners representing more than 80 police departments paid their respects to Beverly.

At the time of his death, Beverly was working a night shift. He did not radio his location to headquarters ahead of the shooting or tell colleagues about his plans that night he was killed. It was clear that he suspected nothing and was not expecting any such incident to happen.

Catch the murder case of Michael Beverly on Oxygen tomorrow.