Jurors in Edward Holley murder trial listen to testimony linking another suspect to crime scene location
Tensions are high while loved ones for the victim and the accused killer, Edward Holley, wait to hear the verdict.
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The fate of a man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend 22 years ago in one of the highest-profile murder cases in Orange County history remains in the hands of a jury Friday.
Tensions are at an all-time high on the third full day of deliberations while loved ones for the victim and the accused killer, Edward Holley, anxiously wait for a verdict.
Holley, who’s from Wawayanda, is accused of bludgeoning his ex-girlfriend, Megan McDonald, in 2003 and dumping her body in a field off Bowser Road in the town of Wallkill.
Jurors deliberated for two hours Friday morning before they sent in a fourth note asking to review additional evidence. Some of the items they requested included pictures, phone records and a map of the Middletown-Scotchtown area. A fifth note early afternoon asked for the testimony of Eric Gonzalez, who found the victim’s body, to be read back.
Gonzalez testified that he lived on the Black Dirt farm property where McDonald was found, and that he located her badly beaten on a dirt road behind his house. He said the stretch where McDonald was found was a popular hangout for his brother and his friends, including Andre Thurston, a deceased suspect who was represented by Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler before he was elected to the position and worked in private practice.
According to a law enforcement source, Thurston provided information about the crime to state police but the information wasn’t followed up on by state police. Hoovler’s representation of Thurston was the reason he recused himself from the case in 2023 and two special prosecutors were instead assigned to prosecute.
Holley was arrested 20 years after the murder when state police said new DNA evidence linked him to the murder but his defense team says that after nearly a month of testimony in his trial prosecutors failed to prove his guilt.
On Thursday, jurors and members of the media heard readbacks of testimony in open court from police about overlooked DNA evidence inside a car that looked like Holley’s that had ties to another ex-boyfriend, Pauly Simpson. Police stated the vehicle, a Dodge Neon, was taken into police custody and samples, believed to be human tissue, were collected. The vehicle, however, was returned to the registered owner and the samples were never tested for DNA, according to the testimony.
Jurors issued a sixth note late Friday afternoon asking for another witness’ testimony to be read back, as well as additional information on a phone number. The judge said jurors would be kept until 5:30 p.m., with deliberations expected to resume Monday if no verdict is reached.
