Woman pleads not guilty

A Ladera Ranch woman accused of being the brains behind a plot to kill a wealthy Newport Beach business owner for his money in 1994 pleaded not guilty in court Tuesday.

Nanette Packard McNeal, 43, pleaded not guilty to plotting the killing of Newport Beach business owner and single father Bill McLaughlin in 1994 for access to his beachfront home and wealth.

Prosecutors said that nearly 20 years ago McNeal, known then as Nanette Ann Johnston, a single mother of two children, met McLaughlin after he responded to her singles advertisement for a companion who could “take care of her� financially.

For more than two years the two dated and their relationship grew more serious, police said. Unbeknownst to McLaughlin, McNeal was dating a former National Football League player and bouncer at a club down the street, Eric Naposki, 42, officials said. Prosecutors said McNeal persuaded Naposki to kill McLaughlin, guaranteeing her a year of free rent in his beachfront home and a $150,000 payout, per the instructions of his will.

With a copy of the house key provided by McNeal, police said Naposki entered McLaughlin’s home one evening before work and shot him six times in the kitchen.

McNeal was later convicted of stealing thousands from McLaughlin through forging his business’ books before and after his death. Prosecutors said new evidence they’ve declined to identify was the key to cracking the 15-year-old case and led to McNeal and Naposki’s arrests.

Naposki pleaded not guilty to murder earlier this month. Naposki and McNeal are scheduled to be back in court for a pretrial hearing July 10. Both face life in prison without parole if convicted of all charges.