Ex-boyfriend charged in 2003 cold case killing of NYPD cop’s daughter: NYS Police

On Thursday, state police announced that they have arrested someone in connection with the murder of Megan McDonald, a college student and the daughter of a retired NYPD detective. The 20-year-old was found murdered on a dirt path in Wallkill in 2003. This had been an unsolved case until now.

42-year-old Edward Holley, who has been paralyzed below the waist since a car accident in 2007, has been charged with second-degree murder in relation to McDonald's death after a thorough investigation by the New York State Police.

Major Crimes Investigator Brad Natalizio, who dedicated himself to the investigation, stated that the motive for this incident was evident, and it was a homicide involving an "intimate partner."

Holley, who was in a wheelchair, spoke as he was escorted from the Troop F State Police Headquarters to appear before a judge on Thursday afternoon.

“You know I’m not guilty,” he said, as about a dozen reporters and photographers stood by. “They’re parading me like I’m some freakin’ monkey here, but it’s all good,” he said

As Holley was being taken into custody by a state trooper, two young women and another woman who claimed to be his wife exclaimed, "We adore you, Daddy!"

"I loved Megan with all my heart," Holley declared leading up to being escorted to court, expressing his innocence.

At a news conference outside the headquarters, McDonald's mother, sister, brothers, and brother-in-law, accompanied the FBI, State Police, and local police departments investigators, right after Holley was sent to the court.

Karen Whalen, McDonald's sister, stated that Holley was rightfully in jail. State Police investigators stated that Holley had been in detention since 2021 in relation to an unrelated charge.

When asked about Holley, James Whalen, who is McDonald's brother-in-law, was straightforward and honest about the family's emotions.

At the press conference, he declared that this individual was repulsive and had made every attempt to conceal their involvement in the atrocious act for the past two decades.

During an interview with PIX11 News, Natalizio, the investigator, described the process of resolving the case as akin to assembling a puzzle made up of one million pieces. He cited the importance of DNA and cyber evidence, as well as the involvement of new individuals who stepped forward, in facilitating the arrest.

The increasing evidence outlined in the criminal complaint led to Holley's arrest.

The proof provided consisted of accounts from witnesses who stated that they saw Holley's identifiable purple Honda Civic hatchback with a loud sound system, which was characteristic of Holley, chasing McDonald into the grounds of Holley's residential complex in the early morning hours of March 14, 2003. This was the last known location of McDonald.

Based on the complaint, it was determined through DNA and forensic evidence that on the morning of her murder, Holley, along with an accomplice (who has since died), eventually got into McDonald's car. Investigators concluded that Holley was in the back seat of the car at the time and proceeded to fatally bludgeon her while the accomplice remained in the driver's seat.

While McDonald was a student at SUNY Orange and working to pay for her education, she had recently begun working at the American Cafe located in the Galleria Mall in March 2003 when she was fatally attacked.

Her father, retired NYPD Detective Dennis McDonald, had died suddenly of a heart attack the year before her death. Dennis McDonald investigated the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993.

State police said their investigation revealed that Megan McDonald had been dating Holley, an alleged marijuana dealer, in early 2003 – and even loaned him money to help him buy a car. But the two had argued and broke up, authorities said.

After McDonald started a new relationship, law enforcement discovered a voicemail on her phone that suggested Holley had left her a message not long prior to her passing. The male speaker on the recording claimed to have passed by McDonald's residence and witnessed her current partner's vehicle parked outside. This information was provided by authorities.

McDonald visited her friends after completing work on the night of her death. As per a witness found by the police in the previous two years, a car resembling a Honda Civic followed McDonald's white Mercury Sable to a parking lot near Kensington Manor apartments. Following this, two men entered McDonald's car and drove away from the spot, as reported by the authorities.

While sitting in the driver's seat of her car, McDonald's assailant struck her from behind. Authorities reported that the individual was situated in the rear seat and used a blunt object in a fit of anger to commit the attack.

According to the police, Holley resided in close proximity to the area where McDonald's corpse was discarded on an isolated dirt path in Wallkill.

For many years, the police did not consider Holley as a suspect and instead they extensively interrogated another ex-boyfriend of McDonald's who was eventually acquitted of any wrongdoing.

Upon learning of the Orange County cold case in 2022, the NYPD Detective's Endowment Association, headed by its president Paul DiGiacaomo, put forth a $10,000 bounty for any intel that would result in an arrest and subsequent trial. The FBI also presented an identical $10,000 reward.

DiGiacomo stated in a release to PIX11 News on Thursday that they fully supported the New York State Police's efforts to apprehend Megan McDonald's murderer. Megan would have celebrated her 40th birthday this year, but her family still remembers her as a young woman with boundless potential at age 20. The thorough investigation by the New York State Police has enabled Megan's loved ones to find solace in the knowledge that justice was served.

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