Sullivan man guilty of murdering elderly woman

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MONTICELLO – A judge convicted Toby Smith of killing Lorraine Gempler, 83, in her Swiss Hill Road North home in the Town of Delaware on September 24, 2018.

On Thursday, Sullivan County Court Judge Michael McGuire convicted Smith, 45, of two counts of second-degree murder, attempted murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, all felonies.

During the trial, the district attorney’s office presented evidence that Smith caused Gempler’s death by striking her several times in the head with a heavy blue glass vase and strangled her.

As Smith was in the process of murdering the victim, her friend and neighbor, David Slater, arrived for a visit. He saw Smith standing over and beaten and bleeding victim and called 911.

Toby Smith

While Slater was on the phone, Smith used the same vase to attempt to seriously injure Slater. A fight ensued with Slater restraining Smith in a head lock.

Slater summoned the help of another neighbor and the two men held Smith until Sullivan County Sheriff’s deputies arrived and took Smith into custody.

The case was investigated by the sheriff’s office with assistance from the State Police and District Attorney’s Office.

The issue in the case was whether, at the time of the crime, Smith was insane. A doctor called by Smith’s attorney examined him and found he was insane. Another doctor called by the prosecution said Smith knew what he was doing and was not insane.

District Attorney James Farrell said the first words Smith said at Orange Regional Medical Center were “I f***ed my life up,” as witnessed by a sheriff’s detective.

Smith faces up to 40 years to life in state prison when sentenced on December 20. Farrell said he will ask the court at sentencing to hold smith fully accountable and responsible for all of the violent crimes.




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