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Oct. 17, 2013 -- Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced today that Patrick Smith (DOB 6/02/87) of 2703 10th Street SW, Lehigh Acres, Florida was convicted 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 was convicted today after a jury trial of:
- one count of Robbery in the Second Degree, a class "C" Felony,
- one count of Unlawful Imprisonment, a class "E" Felony.
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
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 pm.
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.
Blanchard pled guilty on January 2013 and was sentenced to eighteen years to life in state prison.
French pled guilty in May 2012 and is awaiting sentencing.
"These two defendants, along with their convicted accomplices, in a methodical and calculated scheme spanning the east coast, met up in New Hampshire and traveled to Northern New Jersey for the singular purpose of abducting and robbing the victim. They were so intent on taking his money and jewelry that they drove him around two states, ultimately beating him to death at a location so remote that it was nearly two weeks before his body was discovered," said District Attorney Janet DiFiore.
Sentencing will be on Dec. 11, 2013.
Smith faces a maximum of twenty-five years to life in state prison.
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.
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| Travis Morin | Patrick Smith |
In compliance with Disciplinary Rule 7-107A of the Code of Professional Responsibility, you are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
