ALBANY – Freshman State Assemblyman Anil Beephan, Jr., (R, East Fishkill) has introduced his first bill, Melanie’s Law, in response to the brutal murder of Melanie Chianese in her Wappingers Falls home on May 29, 2022.
In the Senate, Rob Rolison (R, Poughkeepsie) announced his intention to sponsor the measure in the upper house.
Melanie Chianese’s mother’s ex-boyfriend, Paul Senecal, has been charged with killing the 29-year-old mother of a three-year-old son.
There had been an order of protection preventing Senecal from contacting her mother, Cheryl Chianese, at the time, but not one to protect the daughter.
The newly proposed legislation would amend the family court act and the criminal procedure law to allow courts to issue orders of protection for immediate family members or household members of a victim, regardless of age.
“Our system was unable to save Melanie, but we have a responsibility and obligation to do our part to prevent the situation from ever happening again,” said Beephan.
