Guilty Verdict In New Windsor Bludgeoning Murder

GOSHEN, NY — A New Windsor man could be spending the rest of his life in prison after being found guilty of murder.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler said Thursday that Luis Rondon, 50, of New Windsor, was convicted by a jury in Orange County Court of second-degree murder, a felony, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor.

The convictions were for the bludgeoning death of a woman Oct. 7, 2019, in her South Gate Village apartment in New Windsor.

Rondon was a peace officer and sergeant with the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority at the time of the murder, Hoovler said.

He faces up to 25 years to life in prison on the murder charge when he is sentenced Dec. 15.

Rondon was remanded to the Orange County Jail without bail following the verdict.

At trial, prosecutors argued that he had killed the woman, who he knew through their association with a medieval reenactment group, by striking her repeatedly on the head with a recently purchased framing hammer.

After Rondon killed her, he flew to California.

Prosecutors said his motive for the murder was that the woman threatened to tell his wife about their relationship and he feared losing his wife, his house and his pension from the government agency.

Hoovler said it was a particularly brutal murder made even more horrific by the fact that the victim was killed in her own home.

"It is always disturbing when someone whose job is to promote public safety commits acts of senseless violence," he said. "This defendant deserves the maximum sentence that the law allows, and my office will recommend that he receives it."