GOSHEN – A former peace officer and sergeant with the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority was sentenced in Orange County Court on Wednesday to 25 years to life in prison for the murder of a New Windsor woman.
Luis Rondon, 50, was convicted by an Orange County Court jury of murder and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the bludgeoning death of 32-year-od Deborah Waldinger inside her South Gate Village apartment.
Following the October 2019 homicide, Rondon fled to California where he was apprehended.
At the trial, prosecutors argued that Rondon had killed Waldinger because she threatened to tell his wife about their relationship and that he feared losing his wife, his house and his pension from his job.
Rondon knew Waldinger through their association with the Society for Creative Anachronism, a medieval reenactment group.
He killed the victim by striking her repeatedly on the head with a recently purchased framing hammer.
District Attorney David Hoovler credited New Windsor Police, State Police and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office with investigating the case.
“It’s always disturbing when someone whose job is to promote public safety commits acts of senseless violence,” said District Attorney David Hoovler. “In my opinion this defendant deserves an even higher sentence than the maximum sentence that the law allows.”
