New York State Police Troop F Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) have arrested Edward V. Holley, age 42, from the town Wawayanda for the March 14, 2003 murder of Megan McDonald. Holley was charged with Murder 2nd degree, following a 20- year investigation.
McDonald's body was discovered on March 15, 2003, in a field in the Town of Wallkill. Her car, a white Mercury Sable, was found two days later in a parking lot in the Kensington Manor Complex, also in Wallkill.
McDonald, had been a SUNY Orange Cstudent at the time of her death. She worked at the Galleria Mall in Middletown. According to police reports, she died of blunt force trauma.
Her father was a retired NYPD detective who died in 2002, a year before McDonald was killed -- and the NYC Detectives' Endowment Association had offered a $10,000 reward, as did the FBI, for information leading to her killer.
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler issued a statement in response to the arrest.
“The District Attorney’s Office has been tirelessly working with the New York State Police, and other law enforcement officials, on the investigation of Megan McDonald’s homicide since March of 2003. That cooperation has included devoting investigative resources, making applications for court orders to obtain evidence, funding scientific testing and paying for other investigative avenues designed to facilitate a viable prosecution of the individual who killed Megan McDonald. In the past few months, a Senior Assistant District Attorney has been working extremely closely with New York State Police Investigators on this matter. On April 20, 2023, at approximately 10:45am, the New York State Police informed the District Attorney’s Office an arrest had been made in the case and they were holding a press conference at 2 p.m.. It is a better practice, and has long been customary in Orange County, for police agencies working on complex matters with our Office to consult with the District Attorney’s Office prior to formally filing charges. Indeed, in this case, the District Attorney’s Office had previously been informed by the New York State Police that no arrest would be made without prior consultation with our office.”
Hoovler also said, “An arrest, as a matter of law, automatically vests defendants with more rights than they enjoy as subjects of an investigation. This includes the right to review investigative materials and items of evidence. Moreover, once a defendant is charged and held in custody, the grand jury must vote an indictment within no longer than six days from the date of the arrest or the defendant must be released. For that reason, complicated cases are normally at least partially presented to a grand jury before an arrest is made. The preferred practice is for police agencies to coordinate with prosecutors on serious cases. Grand jury presentations on “cold” homicide cases involving complicated fact patterns can rarely be commenced and completed within six days, without prior coordination. The family of the victim, and the entire community deserve to have homicide cases handled in the best way possible to provide the greatest opportunity for offenders to be held accountable. My Office will continue to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of the death of Megan McDonald and continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners.”
Holley was arraigned in the City of Middletown Court and remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail. State Police are asking anyone with information about this case to call the state police at 845-344-5300.