Family of NYPD detective's murdered daughter accuse prosecutor of protecting ... trends now
The family of a murdered New York college student claims the district attorney in charge of her case protected her alleged killer by offering him a secret plea deal and warning him that cops were listening to his calls.
Megan McDonald, the daughter of a retired NYPD detective, was 20 years old when she was murdered in 2003 and her body was found on a dirt path in upstate New York. She died from blunt force trauma, having been bludgeoned to death inside her own car.
For two decades her family fought for justice - until Edward Holley, 42, who was paralyzed in a 2007 car crash, was charged with her murder last year. He is scheduled to go to trial this summer.
Now the family has turned their attention to Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler, who they say offered a secret plea deal to Holley and did not disclose that he had previously represented another suspect.
McDonald’s sister Karen Whalen and mother Elizabeth McDonald filed disciplinary complaints against Hoovler and four of his staff members, calling for an investigation into their handling of the murder probe.
Megan McDonald, the daughter of a retired NYPD detective, was 20 years old when she was murdered in 2003
For two decades her family fought for justice - until Edward Holley, 42, who was paralyzed in a 2007 car crash, was charged with her murder last year
Now the family has turned their attention to Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler, who they say offered a secret plea deal to Holley and did not disclose that he had previously represented another suspect
Their allegations against Hoovler mostly come from reporting by the Times Herald-Record, which in February published several stories based on a a State Police investigative report.
The report claimed Hoovler meddled with the probe and questioned if his prior representation of Andre Thurston, once a suspect in the case, influenced his actions after he was elected DA in 2013, as reported by the Times Union.
According to a criminal complaint, Thurston, a friend of McDonald’s, was allegedly in McDonald's car when she was murdered on the driver's seat.
The victim's family told the Times Union they began to question Hoovler's role in the probe in 2023, after Holley's arrest.
McDonald's sister Whalen, an NYPD detective, said she and her husband became concerned when Hoovler did not attend the State Police news conference announcing the arrest.
Hoovler claimed at the time state police made the arrest without his
