Joseph E. McGettigan III, a former prosecutor who secured convictions in the high-profile cases of John E. Du Pont and Jerry Sandusky, died December 31, 2025, at Lankenau Medical Center, according to multiple reports. He was 76.
McGettigan’s career spanned decades and multiple levels of law enforcement, including service as First Assistant District Attorney in both Delaware County and Philadelphia, Chief Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania, and Assistant United States Attorney in Philadelphia. He most recently practiced law with McAndrews, Mehalick, Connolly, Hulse and Ryan, P.C., focusing on Title IX and abuse matters.
Born in West Philadelphia, McGettigan graduated summa cum laude from Temple University with a degree in English literature and earned his law degree from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1982. He began his legal career in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
He gained national recognition for his work on two particularly sensitive cases. In 1997, he led the prosecution of John E. Du Pont, the heir to the DuPont fortune, for the murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz. More recently, in 2012, he was a key figure in the prosecution of Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State assistant football coach, on charges of sexual abuse.
“One of the most important things you can do, especially with victims of sexual abuse, is to give them back some power in their lives,” McGettigan told The Inquirer in 2013 regarding the Sandusky case.
Beyond his courtroom work, McGettigan’s career included a year spent in Iraq in 2008 and 2009 as a U.S. Government resident legal adviser, assisting in the rebuilding of the country’s criminal justice system following the fall of Saddam Hussein. He also briefly worked as a legal consultant on the television series “Philly” in 2002, even appearing in a courtroom scene as a police detective.
Dennis McAndrews, founder of McAndrews Law, described McGettigan as “a wonderful guy, a faithful citizen, and an incredible lawyer” in an online tribute. Judge Jack Stollsteimer of Delaware County Court called him a “legendary prosecutor, a larger-than-life personality, and an avenging hero to crime victims across our Commonwealth.”
McGettigan is survived by his wife, Gay Warren, his mother, Ruth L. McGettigan, and six siblings: Kathleen, Mary, Jeanne, Michael, Patricia, and Susan. He was predeceased by his sister, Elizabeth, and his father, Joseph E. McGettigan II, according to McAndrews Law.
Visitation with the family is scheduled for 10 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday, March 7, at St. Francis de Sales Church in Philadelphia, with a Funeral Mass to follow at 11 a.m. Donations in his name may be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
