Smith
GOSHEN – A Town of Newburgh man was sentenced on Friday by Orange County Court Judge William DeProspo to 12 years in state prison for killing a house guest and burying him in a large planter.
Christopher Smith, 44, was also sentenced to five years of post-release supervision in connection with the April 2017 fatal stabbing in Smith’s house. Prosecutors had recommended 20 years in prison.
On June 25, 2018, Smith pled guilty to manslaughter. Smith admitted that while William McMahon, 50, was staying in his home, he stabbed him in the neck with a knife. Smith admitted he had intended to cause serious injury, but that McMahon died.
State Police had received a report from McMahon’s family on June 30, 2017 that he was missing and on October 24, 2017, troopers discovered his remains buried in a large planter outside Smith’s home.
