TOWN OF WALLKILL – Edward Holley, the 42-year-old man accused of murdering Megan McDonald 20 years ago, is slated to be released from jail because prosecutors have missed the deadline to secure an indictment that would keep him behind bars. Holley was arrested and arraigned on April 20, 2023, which started the clock from when Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler had six days to secure an indictment from the grand jury, pursuant to state law.
The ability to indict Holley on murder charges is still available to the prosecution, and if an indictment is secured, prosecutors could ask the judge to return Holley to jail. When Holley was arrested, Hoovler had expressed his disappointment in the State Police for not giving his office advance notice so he could begin the indictment process prior to Holley being charged.
On April 20th, Hoovler said, “Grand Jury presentations on ‘cold’ homicide cases involving complicated fact patterns can rarely be commenced and completed within six days.” He explained the reason for wanting advance notice of Holley’s arrest, saying, “For that reason, complicated cases are normally at least partially presented to a grand jury before an arrest is made.”
Holley was an inmate at the Orange County Jail when he was arrested on unrelated drug and probation violation charges.
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler did not respond to a Mid-Hudson News request seeking comment.
