GOSHEN – The retrial of Edward Holley in Orange County Court has now lasted more than a month with testimony set to continue on Tuesday.
Holley, 45, is accused of killing Megan McDonald in the Town of Wallkill more than two decades ago. Special prosecutors Julia Cornachio and Laura Murphy and lead defense attorney Paul Weber declined comment for this story.
Approximately 34 witnesses, including former of friends of McDonald and Holley and State Police investigators, have been called to the witness stand since testimony began on January 20.
The trial began a week earlier with jury selection. The prosecution could rest its case this week. The defense team is expected to take about a week-and-a-half to present its case, before it goes to the jury.
A mistrial was declared in the highly publicized case last April after the deadlocked jury could not reach a verdict after more than a week of deliberations in Judge Hyun Chin Kim’s courtroom. Kim is also the judge in the retrial.
Holley, of Wawayanda, is accused of killing McDonald nearly 23 years ago in the Town of Wallkill. He was arrested by State Police in April of 2023 and faces a murder charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
McDonald’s body was found on a narrow dirt path on March 15, 2003, on Bowser Road in Wallkill. The cause of death was blunt force trauma, with multiple fractures to the skull. McDonald was 20 years old at the time of her death. Holley had previously dated McDonald.
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