Westchester County District Attorney

111 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
White Plains, NY 10601
Tel: (914) 995-3586
Fax: (914) 995-2116

March 5, 2014 --  Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced today that Patrick Smith (DOB 6/02/87) of 2703 10th Street SW, Lehigh Acres, Florida was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison on his conviction after a jury trial of:

• two counts of Murder in the Second Degree, class “A-1” Felonies,
• one count of Kidnapping in the First Degree, a class “A” Felony,
• one count of Robbery in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony,
• one count of Unlawful Imprisonment, a class “E” Felony.

Travis Morin (DOB 10/15/87) of 6 Jones Hill Road, Danbury, New Hampshire who was convicted at the same time of:

• one count of Robbery in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony,
• one count of Unlawful Imprisonment, a class “E” Felony,

will be sentenced on March 19, 2014.

They were tried before two separate juries.

The defendants were charged as acting in concert with two other accomplices, Jessica Ryan French (DOB 08/22/87) of 2703 10th Street SW, Lehigh Acres, Florida, and Charles Blanchard (DOB 12/17/90) of 32 Moses Avenue, Hill, New Hampshire, in aiding and abetting each other causing the death of Epifanio Medina whose body was discovered in the Town of North Salem on June 12, 2011.

Charles Blanchard pled guilty on January 2013 and was sentenced to eighteen years to life in state prison.

Jessica French pled guilty in May 2012 to Robbery in Second Degree and will be sentenced on March 19, 2014.

On June 12, 2011, two horseback riders discovered the decomposing body of a male, later learned to be 65-year-old, Epifanio Medina in the woods of North Salem.

The victim, a Florida resident had been living in Passaic, New Jersey. He was known to carry large amounts of cash and wore a lot of flashy jewelry. He frequented a liquor store in Passaic, New Jersey and was last seen exiting that store on June 2, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.

The New York State Police commenced an extensive, wide ranging investigation and on June 16, 2011, the deceased was identified. 

Police also learned that deceased had been reported missing by family members on June 5, 2011 and that he had been living in Passaic, New Jersey.

State Police expanded their investigation both down to Florida and up to New Hampshire.

“This defendant, along with his convicted accomplices, in a methodical and calculated scheme spanning the east coast, traveled to Northern New Jersey for the singular purpose of abducting and robbing their victim. Methodical investigative work by the New York State Police, forensic analysis by the Westchester County Department of Labs and Research and a complicated and complex prosecution came together to hold all these defendants accountable,” said District Attorney Janet DiFiore.

Morin faces a maximum of fifteen years in state prison.

First Deputy District Attorney James McCarty, Chief of Trial Operations and Assistant District Attorney Nadine Nagler of the Career Criminal Bureau are prosecuting the case.