GOSHEN – A 49-year-old New Windsor man was arraigned on Friday before Orange County Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown on an indictment charging him with killing Deborah Waldinger in her South Gate Village apartment in New Windsor on October 7.
Luis Rondon was charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon in the bludgeoning death of the woman.
Rondon is a peace officer and sergeant with the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority.
He was initially apprehended in California in connection with the charges and remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail.
It is alleged that he killed Waldinger, who he knew, by striking her repeatedly on the head with a recently purchased hammer, and then flew to California.
He faces 25 years to life in prison on the murder charge.
“The tragic death of this young woman is made even more horrific by the fact that it occurred in her own home,” said District Attorney David Hoovler. “It is always disturbing when someone whose job is to promote public safety is accused of senseless violence.”
New Windsor and State Police investigated the case along with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
