Suspect arrested in 2003 Orange County cold case murder to be released from jail Thursday
WALLKILL, N.Y. -- In Orange County, there's been a stunning turn of events following an arrest in the cold case murder of a college student.
A suspect was charged last week, but by law, he had to be indicted within six days. That didn't happen, so he'll be released from jail Thursday.
Last Thursday, New York State Police charged 42-year-old Edward Holley with second-degree murder two decades after Wallkill resident Megan McDonald's body was found badly beaten and abandoned on a dirt road.
- Read more: Edward Holley, 42, arrested in 2003 killing of 20-year-old Megan McDonald in Wallkill, New York
Her family expressed relief, but almost one week later, Holley is the one relieved after learning he will be released from jail Thursday because he was not indicted in the required six-day window on that murder charge. His attorney, Paul Weber, says Holley maintains his innocence.
"There's a lot of holes in this, and I think there are two other players that are probably the people that they should be focusing on," Weber said. "They did not meet the burden of probable cause for the arrest."
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Investigators allege Holley and the college student had broken up days before her disappearance and that he owed her a substantial amount of money.
"There's no phone records, no contact between them ... She broke up with him, and he moved on," Weber said.
McDonald's family released a statement saying:
"Our family is disappointed. However, his temporary release was expected. After patiently waiting for over twenty years, we are confident that the police have arrested the right person - Edward Holley. The process may not be easy or follow our preferred path, but we will not rest until justice is secured for Megan."
Last week, the Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler lamented that police did not consult his office before making the arrest, saying, "Complicated cases are normally at least partially presented to a grand jury before an arrest is made."
Hoovler warned that this could happen saying, "Grand jury presentations on 'cold' homicide cases involving complicated fact patterns can rarely be commenced and completed within six days."
"They have to ultimately prosecute this thing, and you have to follow their rules," said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant who served as commanding officer of the Bronx cold case squad.
"Is it common for police to make an arrest in a cold case like this without working with the district attorney on it?" CBS2's Ali Bauman asked.
"No. The issue that it comes down to when you're dealing with cold cases, the idea is to bring the prosecutor in at the earliest part of the reinvestigation," Giacalone said.
Before his arrest, Holley was already in jail for violating probation on a drug possession charge. He was already scheduled to be released Thursday in that case but had he been indicted, he would have been held longer.
Wednesday evening, the Orange County DA announced that he requested a special prosecutor be appointed in this case. The DA said in his prior job in private practice, he represented a client regarding potential information in the case.