Orange County named in notice of claim after Holley acquittal

A 96-page notice of claim filed in state court accuses five New York State Police investigators and Orange County of misconduct after Edward Holley’s acquittal in the Megan McDonald murder case. Orange County was named because it retained special prosecutors Julia Cornachio and Laura Murphy and employed investigator Christopher Kelly, who Holley’s attorneys say were directly involved in building the case.

Holley was found not guilty on March 18, 2026, in Orange County Court and walked out of Orange County Jail a free man about an hour later. His arrest by New York State Police in April 2023 had reopened one of Orange County’s longest-running cold cases, the 2003 killing of 20-year-old Megan McDonald in Wallkill. The case first went to trial in 2025, but that proceeding ended in a mistrial before the retrial produced a not-guilty verdict after 14 days of jury deliberations.

The Orange County Legislature approved roughly $2 million to support the prosecution, and the special prosecutors were brought in after District Attorney David Hoovler recused himself because of a conflict of interest. The notice of claim names the county itself alongside the state police investigators.

Holley’s lawyers have also separately alleged in court proceedings that state police testimony during the case was false or misleading. The notice of claim adds a civil challenge to those complaints after the criminal case ended in acquittal.

McDonald’s family said after the verdict that they still believe Holley was responsible for her death and condemned the social media speculation that surrounded the trial.