POUGHKEEPSIE – The man accused of killing a father of a Marist College student at a Town of Poughkeepsie hotel on Sunday, October 2nd, has been indicted by a Dutchess County grand jury. The accused “Courtyard Killer,” Roy Johnson Jr., 35, was indicted on Friday, October 7th, according to a news release issued by Dutchess County DA William Grady.
Johnson was arrested on felony murder and criminal possession of a weapon by police on Sunday, October 2, 2022.
According to Grady, the second suspect in the murder of Paul Kutz, 26-year-old Devin Taylor, was also indicted.
Taylor, like Johnson, was arrested at the Courtyard by Marriott on Sunday. He was charged with two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
On Friday, October 7, 2022, a written certification was filed with Town of Poughkeepsie Court Justice Paul Sullivan, advising him of the two indictments.
Johnson is accused of murdering Kutz, a 53-year-old Long Island man who was staying at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel over the weekend while visiting his son, a Marist freshman, at the college’s “Family Weekend.”
A preliminary hearing, originally scheduled in the Town of Poughkeepsie Court, has been negated by the indictments.
The grand jury’s vote to indict the two men, both with prior felony convictions, will be recorded and filed with the Dutchess County Court next week.
Johnson was remanded to Dutchess County Jail without bail. Taylor is in the same jail with a minimum bail of $500,000 cash.
During a recent news conference, Dutchess County Chief District Attorney Matt Weishaupt hinted that Devin Taylor might face federal charges as a result of the investigation.
An arraignment date has not been set, according to the DA’s office.
Video of Weishaupt at a prior news release regarding the murder:
