Man Who Killed Victim, Buried Him In Planter Sentenced

NEWBURGH, NY — The Newburgh man who admitted killing a man and then burying him in a planter was sentenced Friday. Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler said Christopher Smith, 44, of the Town of Newburgh, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and five years post-release supervision.

Smith pleaded guilty June 25 to first-degree manslaughter in the April 2017 fatal stabbing of a man who had been staying in Smith's home.

Prosecutors had recommended Smith be sentenced to 20 years in state prison.

At the time he pleaded guilty, Smith admitted that he stabbed the man, identified as William K. McMahon, 50, in the neck with a knife, adding that he had intended to cause serious injury to him. McMahon died as a result of the knife wounds.

McMahon's family reported him missing June 30, 2017.

As a result of an investigation, members of the state police discovered the man's remains Oct. 24, 2017, buried in a large planter outside of Smith's residence.

Hoovler said that no sentence can ever mitigate the pain that a homicide victim's family experiences when they lose a loved one to violence.

"The unlawful taking of another human life is among the worst crimes that one can commit, and the likelihood of killing increases dramatically when a person chooses to use a weapon," he said.

"My office will seek lengthy prison sentences for those who resort violence and weapons to settle disputes," Hoovler said. "I only hope that the recovery of the victim's body in this case brought some measure of closure to the victim's family."

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