Jury in Edward Holley retrial struggles to reach verdict

Jurors in the retrial of Edward Holley told Judge Hyun Chin Kim Tuesday that they were deadlocked, writing, "At this time we are deadlocked," the jury foreperson wrote. "I don't think that will change. At this time, we have five votes for guilty and seven for not guilty." The note arrived at about 11 a.m. during deliberations in Orange County Court in Goshen, where the case has returned after an earlier trial.

The jury wrapped up their third day of deliberations Tuesday afternoon and had been expected to resume Wednesday morning. During deliberations jurors asked the court reporter to re-read nearly 200 pages of testimony, including the jailhouse informant John DiCaprio and a close friend of defendant Edward Holley about a party in the Town of Wallkill the last night Megan McDonald was seen alive. Jurors also requested and were provided all phone records from the official evidence file, and on Wednesday again asked to rehear DiCaprio’s testimony. Courtroom proceedings show retired New York State Police Investigator John Ramos, the lead investigator during the first year of the case, had his testimony re-read to jurors on Monday.

Prosecutors allege Holley, 45, of Wawayanda, was in the back seat of McDonald’s car when he attacked 20-year-old Megan McDonald in March 2003, possibly striking her with a hammer before the assault moved outside onto Bowser Road. McDonald’s body was found the following day by a dumpster on Bowser Road and her car was recovered three days later in an apartment complex parking lot, court filings state. News accounts describe McDonald’s head and face as caved in from blunt force trauma.

Holley was arrested by New York State Police in April 2023. The retrial is being prosecuted by special prosecutors Julia Cornachio and Laura Murphy with an allocation of approximately $2 million from the Orange County Legislature to support the case. If convicted on the murder charge, Holley faces exposure to a sentence carrying a maximum of 25 years to life in prison.

The prosecution’s case relies in part on DiCaprio’s jailhouse statements, which Midhudsonnews characterizes as the prosecution’s closest attempt to introduce what it describes as a confession. An unnamed former prosecutor and FBI special agent told reporting outlets that a juror request to re-read nearly 200 pages of testimony could signal movement toward guilty, but the case has also been described in court as mostly circumstantial, with uncertainty about the exact location of the attack and who was in the car at the time.

Deliberations were set to continue Wednesday morning in Goshen; the jury’s next actions will determine whether Judge Kim will accept a verdict or take further steps to resolve the deadlock.