Schoharie murder suspect turns self in
May 25—A teenage suspect wanted for a January murder in Richmondville was arrested May 23, state police reported.
In late March, after making two arrests for the Jan. 29 killing of Connor Delaney, 21, of Warnerville, state police announced they were still searching for a third suspect. Jeffrey A. McGough, 18, of Schenectady, who was wanted on the charge of second-degree murder in connection with the homicide, turned himself in Monday at the State Police barracks in Princetown, in Schenectady County, the Troop G headquarters in Latham announced in a media release.
"He was arraigned in Richmondville Town Court and remanded to Schoharie County Jail without bail," the release said, charged with second degree murder, first degree robbery, and criminal possession of a weapon, second degree.
Schoharie County District Attorney Susan Mallery said in a phone interview May 24 that McGough will be in court Friday for a preliminary hearing.
"We'll be filing a motion for source hearing — so if any bail is set, they'll have to have legitimate source of income, and we'll be filing a DNA motion," Mallery said.
McGough was sent to jail without bail. Because of the level of charges against him, the local jurisdiction does not have the authority to set bail, Mallery explained. A Source of Funds Inquiry is used to determine the "source of any money posted as cash bail, and whether any such money constitutes the fruits of criminal or unlawful conduct," according to state statute 520.30.
The DNA motion would give the state permission to swab McGough for DNA to investigate whether it matches any found at Delaney's residence, she said.
State police had arrested two teenage co-defendants in March in connection with the death. Devon Hunter, 18, of Colonie, was charged with second-degree murder and sent to Schoharie County Jail after a preliminary hearing. A 17-year-old from Schoharie County whose name was withheld was also accused of second-degree murder and other charges. He was released with a $200,000 bail.
In the case against Hunter, Mallery said her office was currently "working on the discovery portion of the case," while the case against the minor is pending, and "we'll be working on motions and just the regular proceedings."
On the evening of Jan. 29, troopers had responded to a 911 call for a disturbance at Delaney's home two miles south of Cobleskill, at 359 Hite Road in the town of Richmondville. They found Delaney deceased on the floor inside with "trauma associated with gunshot wounds." Delaney's dog was also shot and killed during the incident. There were at least 20 bullet holes around the house, according a family friend who worked on repairing the house afterwards.
Richmondville Town Supervisor Jeffrey Haslun said during a May 23 phone call that as far as he knew, Delaney's death was an isolated incident, and that no related concerns have been brought to the town board. He said he had no information about the case other than what had been published in police reports.
Mallery said that her office is experiencing an unusually high level of homicide and violent crime cases. Brian Goodrich of West Fulton was charged with three counts of criminal mischief, and one count of possession of a large-capacity ammunition-feeding device, after shooting at a store, houses and the fire department in West Fulton on March 20. Mallery said she has a conference scheduled with the judge and defense attorney in the Goodrich case on May 25.
There are two other homicide cases the Schoharie district attorney's office is prosecuting: a case against Raymond George from 2021, and a case against Ryan Oldorff from July 2019.
George struck and killed 50-year-old James E. Williams and his two dogs with his car in front of the Colonial Court Motel in Cobleskill on June 15, 2021, according to witnesses. He was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, second-degree criminal mischief and two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals.
Oldorff was 17 when he was charged with shooting and killing his adoptive father, 50-year-old Timothy Oldorff of Cobleskill. Ryan Oldorff was deemed mentally incompetent at the time, but has now been deemed competent, so that case is moving forward, Mallery said.
Mike Forster Rothbart, staff writer, can be reached at mforsterrothbart@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7213. Follow him at @DS_MikeFR on Twitter.
