Orange County News
For Immediate Release Contact: Christopher Borek
February 2, 2022 845.291.3276, 845.238.4245c
District Attorney Hoovler Announces Guilty Plea in
Supermarket Murder Case
New Windsor Man Pleads Guilty to Murder in the Second Degree
for Fatal Stabbing in Supermarket
District Attorney to Recommend 20 Years to Life in Prison
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on
Wednesday, February 2, 2022, Andrew Goodenough, 41, of New Windsor, pleaded guilty in Orange County Court to Murder in the Second Degree in connection with the stabbing death of a man in a supermarket in 2016.
At the time that he pleaded guilty, Goodenough admitted that on June 11, 2016, he stabbed and killed a man who was shopping at a supermarket in the Town of New Windsor. Police and prosecutors were unable to discover any prior interaction between Goodenough and the victim. In a written plea agreement Goodenough maintained that the victim had threatened him in the past, but acknowledged that the victim was not threatening him, or posing any imminent threat to him at the time of the stabbing. In the same agreement the Orange County District Attorney’s Office reiterated its belief that the two had no prior interaction.
Pursuant a plea agreement placed on the record at the time Goodenough pleaded guilty, the District Attorney’s Office will recommend a sentence of twenty years to life in state prison when Goodenough is sentenced on March 28, 2022.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Town of New Windsor Police Department for their investigation of the case.
“My deepest condolences go out to family and friends of the victim, who was simply grocery shopping on a Saturday when he lost his life in a completely random attack,” said District Attorney David M. Hoovler. “There is no indication that the victim ever had any previous interaction with the defendant, much less had ever threatened him, despite the defendant’s assertions. What everyone, including the defendant, acknowledges is that at no time while they were in the supermarket on June 11, 2016, did the victim ever threaten the defendant, or pose any imminent threat, and that the defendant was wholly unjustified in stabbing him. Many individuals, including highly successful professionals, suffer from mental health issues. This does not make them immune from the law. If a defendant can appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions, he is legally accountable. Andrew Goodenough’s actions on that day were reprehensible and he knew at the time that what he was doing was wrong. We will be recommending that he be sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.”
This case is being prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney Christopher Borek and Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Mangold.
A criminal charge is merely an allegation that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.