Prison For Murder By Impaling Man With Broomstick To The Head

NEWBURGH, NY — A killer who brutally murdered an elderly man with a broomstick has learned his fate.

Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Tuesday, 36-year-old James Rich, of Newburgh, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the killing.

On June 24, Rich was convicted after a jury trial in Orange County Court of all charges against him, including the crimes of second degree murder and seventh degree criminal possession of a controlled substance in connection with the stabbing death of a man in a Newburgh home.

"The community will be safer during the decades that this defendant is in prison," Hoovler said. "The sheer brutality of this crime is staggering. The case was challenging from investigation through trial and the hard-won conviction is a testament to the dedicated work of the police and prosecutors who saw that justice was done. I offer my condolences to the victim's family and friends and I hope that this lengthy sentence will give them a sense of closure. The prosecution of violent felonies, most importantly in those cases that result in a death, remains the cornerstone priority of my Office and we will not cease in our pursuit of dangerous offenders."

According to court documents, on March 14, 2023, police officers responded to a call for assistance at a residence in the City of Newburgh. Rich was then arrested and charged with possessing cocaine.

After being released from that arrest, Rich returned to the home and attacked his 76-year-old roommate. During the the attack, Rich impaled the man in the head with a metal broomstick which resulted in his death.

Over the next 24 hours, Rich was captured on surveillance video discarding bags of bloody clothing covered with the victim’s DNA that authorities believe were worn by Rich during the murder.

In the early morning hours of March 17, 2023, police found Rich hiding in a closet of a different apartment and the elderly man's cellphone was recovered from the area where Rich was hiding.

Rich was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on the charge of second degree murder and 364 days on the misdemeanor charge of seventh degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, for having illegally possessed cocaine. The sentences will be merged, according to the district attorney's office.

Hoovler thanked the City of Newburgh Police Department and the New York State Police.