GOSHEN – The jury in the retrial of Edward Holley is having difficulty reaching a verdict after three full days of deliberations in Orange County Court Judge Hyun Chin Kim’s courtroom.
However, a former prosecutor and FBI special agent believes a potential guilty verdict passed special prosecutors Julia Cornachio and Laura Murphy by on Tuesday when the jury requested to hear nearly 200 pages of testimony. The jury foreman also informed Judge Kim on Tuesday that the group was deadlocked, with five votes for guilty and seven for not guilty.
“The prosecutor’s strongest opportunity was following the readback (on Tuesday),” said David Shapiro, MPA-Inspection and Oversight program director at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and a frequent contributor to Mid-Hudson News. “Since it did not apparently motivate the jury to convict shortly after the readback, the persuasiveness and power of that testimony in relation to the state’s case are likely not recoverable for the purpose of obtaining a guilty verdict. As I understand it, the readback was of the first investigator’s testimony. Due to the age and other messy factors of this case, it would likely have been deemed the most reliable. It wasn’t enough.”
Shapiro added that “assuredly, no conviction; of course, another hung jury could follow soon.”
Holley, 45, of Wawayanda, stands accused of killing Megan McDonald 23 years ago in the Town of Wallkill. He was arrested by State Police in April 2023 in connection with her death and is facing a murder charge that carries a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
On Wednesday, the jury asked to rehear testimony from a jailhouse informant John DiCaprio, who said he heard Holley describe beating Megan McDonald inside her car when she was killed. DiCaprio and Holley were incarcerated in Orange County Jail at the time on unrelated charges.
DiCaprio’s testimony represents the prosecution’s closest attempt to introduce what it characterizes as a confession. Prosecutors, who are trying the case with an allocation of approximately $2 million from the Orange County Legislature, allege that Holley was in the back seat of McDonald’s car when he attacked her in the driver’s seat, possibly with a hammer, before the struggle moved outside onto Bowser Road. Prosecutors allege that Holley killed McDonald because of personal issues in their relationship, including money he owed her and jealousy over her seeing someone else. McDonald was just 20 years old at the time of her murder.
Later Wednesday, at about 4:15 p.m., jurors asked to rehear testimony from Damian Lewis, McDonald’s boyfriend at the time of her death. The jury will hear that testimony when the case resumes Thursday morning and continue deliberations.
“I think it might be difficult for the jury to come up with a unanimous verdict,” said Cheryl Bader, a law professor at Fordham University and a former prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey. “It is not like you just have one or two holdouts. That is a lot of people who have to change their minds. It sounds like they are splitting hairs, but the needle could move. You never know what is going on in the jury room.”
A mistrial was declared in the highly publicized case last April after a deadlocked jury could not reach a verdict following more than a week of deliberations in Judge Kim’s courtroom.
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