Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Monday, June 24, 2024, James Rich, age 36, of Newburgh, was convicted after a jury trial in the Orange County Court of all charges against him, including the crimes of Murder in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree in connection with the stabbing death a man in Newburgh. Rich faces 25 years to life in prison when he is scheduled to be sentenced on August 27, 2024. Rich was remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail following the jury’s verdict.

As alleged at trial, on March 14, 2023 police responded to a call for assistance at a residence in the City of Newburgh. As a result of that call, Rich was arrested and charged with possessing cocaine. After being released from that arrest, Rich returned to the residence and attacked a 76 year-old man who lived with Rich. During the course of the attack, Rich impaled the victim in the head with a metal broomstick which resulted in the man’s death. Over the next 24 hours, Rich was seen on surveillance video that was later recovered discarding bags of bloody clothing bearing the victim’s DNA that were believed to have been worn by Rich during the killing. In the early morning hours of March 17, 2023, Rich was found by police hiding in a closet of a different apartment and the victim’s cell phone was recovered from the area where Rich was hiding.

Hoovler thanked the City of Newburgh Police Department whose investigation led to the arrest of Rich. District Attorney Hoovler also thanked the New York State Police who assisted in the investigation.

“The sheer brutality of this crime is staggering,” said Hoovler. “The case was challenging from investigation through trial and the hard-won conviction is a testament to the dedicated work of the police and prosecutors who saw that justice was done. I offer my condolences to the victim’s family and friends and I hope that this verdict will give them a sense of closure. The prosecution of violent felonies, most importantly in those cases that result in a death, remains the cornerstone priority of my Office and we will not cease in our pursuit of dangerous offenders.”