This is a tragic incident that could have been prevented. Explain please how 17 year olds are allowed to use power boats without adult supervision. The town of Barrington has tried in vain to curb underage drinking so now how about some parents stepping in and making the children accountable for their actions! Parents - lock your liquor cabinets and keys to boats while you are at work or away!

The drinking continues with our youth,and another child has died because of it. Who bought the liquer for these young kids...Its time to go after the supplier of the liquer and hold that person accountable also.

Prayers go out to the families involved in this tragic accident

Well, you people don't bann alcohol yet you complain when someone gets killed or severly injured. Pot is banned yet booze is available on every street corner in the state! Wake up!

How about you people stop jumping to conclusions..alcohol was involved but it's not right to say that the alcohol caused this horrific accident. and "flo", learn how to spell liquor. It's not only barrington that has a issue with underage drinking, kids don't get the liquor from parents cabinets. Focus on the loss of a teen rather then how you can stop alcohol useage.
R.I.P Murph

It sounds like there is more to this story than just an accident. Why does this new story detail Blunt and sharp injuries?? Initially, this was someone who allegedly fell off a kneeboard and could not be found. If he had blunt and sharp injuries... someone had to know he was hit!!

This story doesn't seem to be a complete story.

And now the kids have instituted the "No Snitching" rule amongst themselves. Good job kids. Not only did you kill your friend but your silence will keep him from getting justice. The parents in Barrington should be very proud of the gangster scum they've brought up.

adults,police,authority love to have something to blame in every town...whether it be guns, cocaine, etc. and i guess in this town it is alcohol. on top of that we have narrow minded Chief LaCross who believes everything that happens in this town is due to alcohol...i.e. zach and mike which for the millionth time was NOT due to alcohol, check blood levels..the FACTS... sometimes tragic accidents are just tragic accidents not becuase teens are rediculously drunk, so to the authority of barrington really get a life we are just like any other town, just no guns etc. you guys jump to conclusions way to easily and beleive all this propaganda and jargen that the police is stuffing into your heads

RIP MURPHY......keep your head up greenberg

Barrington Youth and Barrington Parents: go to www.stlukesparish.com and listen to Father Matt's sermon from Sunday 7/22/07

Posted by: anonymous at July 24, 2007 12:41 PM

This post clearly depicts the narrow minded mentality of the people in Barrington--LaCross is only doing his job-and God only knows how with these people-Alcohol is a major problem in this town, from parents right on down to the kids--Parents should stay at home with their kids instead of going out every night "to be seen." The parents in this town are only concerned with their social status and material items--Keeping up with the Joneses is more important than keeping in touch with their children

This has been and appears to be a ever expanding problem. As a lifelong resident of Barrington and now a parent myself, I find myself wondering what has to happen for this town to realize just how big this problem really is. It appears to me,perhaps the parents give too much trust and freedom.

say whatever you wanna say about ryan, hes a good kid, hes like family to me. & this doesnt mean he killed his bestfriend. and i bet it wasnt even his fault. you guys think what you want & say what you want. hes not a scrum and gangster who you think he is.

r.i.p patrick murphy i love you ryan, i misss you =/

Patrick won't R.I.P. until justice is served. And all of his friends know that he did "rage, rage, against the dying of the light."

Many people are caught up in the legal system on this matter. Many are arguing about teens use of alcohol and kids playing with dangerous equipment (motor boats). Both of those matters contributed to this tragedy and need to be addressed.. BUT.. This tragedy is about so much more. In addition to teaching kids how to avoid such tragedies, We should teach kids how to act when things go wrong and it should be about doing the RIGHT THING and not about the legal thing!

May God have mercy on the souls of everyone involved...

R.I.P. Patrick Murphy

R.I.P murphy love and miss you!

This sounds like it was a tragic accident. Teeanagers being stupid. Ryan must feel horrible. I dought this was a planned malicious act but poor judgement by all involved that caused the death of a friend.

People need to begin to realize that underage drinking is the main problem here. No matter where you go, every town has some sort of drinkiing/drug problem. It is almost impossible to completely stop these problems, and our time and effort should be spent focusing on things such as wearing a seat belt or a life jacket. Little things like this are easy to tackle and could mean the difference between life and death.

I love you Murphy and I can not believe that they are using your life as propaganda.

this is a story of a kid who had a tragic accident among friends. bad circumstances lead to bad decisions and bad results. however, there was no alcohol impairment involved in the death and the idea that this pathetic little state would attempt to try this kid as an adult sickens me.......like a kid in this post said earlier....focus on the loss of a teen and the tradgedy for that community rather then ur detailed opinions of an accident you were not involved in
God Bless

Anyone that has made a comment about this article needs to read all of the other comments that everyone else has made. Are you all honestly going to sit here and trash talk the teens of barrington? Don't you think you are being a little biast? Incase you didnt know, barrington is not the only town in the state of Rhode Island that has had problems with teen drinking. but even more importantly why is everyone running to blame alcohol for everything that happens in barrington? i honestly believe that ryan made a bad decision and should be punished for what resulted. Pat and Ryan were like family to eachother, and if you dont know what happened and all you know is what you read in the papers, you have no right to judge anyone that is involved. becuause the area that you live in does not determine weather or not a life will be taken by gangs, alcohol, drugs, accident, murder, suicide, or anything. anything can happenen anywhere, so stop judging the teens and parents of barrington for what happened. and stop trying to place blame on someone or a something everytime that something tragic occurs.

i miss you patrick stand strong Ryan, dont let this bring you down!