‘Unimaginable’ Wappinger Double Murder Leads To Lengthy Prison Sentence

WAPPINGER, NY — A man charged with killing a local couple and their dog, and then setting their home on fire, has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.

Robert Buda Jr., 36, was sentenced Wednesday in Dutchess County Court.

Subscribe

In March, he entered a guilty plea to two counts of second-degree murder, and to second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Buda had been charged with the Jan. 26, 2025 murders of Paul Hait, 63, and Jo-Ann Hait, 65, at their home at 78 Marlorville Rd. The victims were shot multiple times, according to prosecutors.

Buda was the victims’ son-in-law at the time of the homicides, according to the district attorney’s office, which added, “We cannot speculate as to motive.”

Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi said, “Robert Buda executed two innocent people in an act of unimaginable violence.”

According to Parisi, the sentence, “ensures (Buda) will never again have the opportunity to threaten another member of our community. While justice can never erase the pain suffered by the Hait family, it demands accountability, and that accountability has now been imposed.”

Paul Hait had a lifelong career at IBM, and he had served as a volunteer firefighter. Jo-Ann Hait had worked at Union Carbide and at Arlington School District’s Transportation Department. The couple had recently celebrated 40 years of marriage prior to their deaths, according to the couple’s obituary.

Read more:

'Brutal And Senseless': Man Who Shot, Killed Wappinger Couple, Dog, Set House On Fire, Pleads Guilty: DA

Arson Victims ID'd, Police Believe Suspect First Murdered Couple, Dog

Suspect Nabbed In Arson Fire That Killed 2 In Wappinger