Jury deliberates in Middletown murder trial over Sebastian Avilan killing

Jurors in Middletown began weighing whether Sheldon Paul helped kill Sebastian Avilan in a targeted attack at 23 Knapp Ave., the final phase of a case that began with a 2019 shooting and did not reach arrests until 2024.

Paul is charged with first-degree murder in connection with Avilan’s death, and the case now turns on whether prosecutors convinced the jury that he took part in the killing beyond a reasonable doubt. Avilan, also known as Sebastian Avilan-Medina, was 26 when he was found fatally shot in his upstairs apartment on March 11, 2019, the day before his son’s first birthday.

The long path to trial gave the case unusual weight in Orange County. Middletown police announced the first arrest in April 2024, and by May 2024 authorities said three suspects had been charged in the killing. One of them, Dijion Constantine, later pleaded guilty, leaving Paul as the remaining courtroom test of the state’s case. The investigation drew in the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, New York State Police and the New York State Division of Parole, signaling a homicide probe that reached well beyond a routine local arrest.

For Avilan’s family, the years between the shooting and the trial were marked by public calls for justice and repeated efforts to keep his name in view. Byron Avilan, Consuelo Avilan and Daniel Avilan continued pressing for answers while the case remained unsolved, underscoring how long-cold homicides can linger in a community long after the sirens fade.

Now the decision rests with jurors. Deliberations can end quickly if the panel agrees on a verdict, or they can stretch across several days if jurors need more time to work through the evidence and reach unanimity. A guilty verdict on the first-degree murder charge would mean the jury accepted the prosecution’s account of a targeted killing inside Avilan’s home. An acquittal would mean the state failed to prove Paul’s involvement to the jury’s satisfaction, even after years of investigation and a full trial.

For Middletown, the outcome is about more than one defendant. It is the closing chapter of a case that began in a home on Knapp Avenue and moved, after years of silence, into the hands of 12 jurors now deciding whether the 2019 killing of Sebastian Avilan was proven in court.