Heath Merryman (2:35)

Shameless plug.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (2:37)

I mean, you know, you gotta do what you gotta do. But I wanted to say my first thriller novel, it's called Night Watcher it came out last year, but I have another book coming out. It's called the Season of Sinking. It is not a sequel. It's just a really fun, spooky lakeside thriller about sisterhood and obsession session. I really learned so much from doing Going west that helped me write this book. If anybody wants to pre order it, it is out July 7th everywhere that you get your books. So if you want to do that, I would really appreciate it.

Heath Merryman (3:09)

Yeah, go check out the Season of Sinking. I can't wait to read it. I still haven't read it yet.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (3:13)

You will, you will. I don't like you to read it until it's like the final copy, but yeah, that is by me, Daphne Wollsoncroft, which I feel like I've never said much.

Heath Merryman (3:22)

Daphne Wolsencroft.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (3:23)

Merriman, have you ever said your full name on this show?

Heath Merryman (3:26)

No, I don't think so.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (3:27)

Hit us.

Heath Merryman (3:27)

Heath Merryman.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (3:29)

Crazy. Anyway, thanks, guys. All right, let's talk about Megan.

Heath Merryman (3:33)

All right, guys, this is episode 592 of Going West. So let's get into it.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (4:14)

In March of 2003, a 20 year old woman who happened to be the daughter of an NYPD detective was found brutally beaten to death in Hudson Valley. Discarded on a rural dirt path. It was quickly determined that she had been killed in her car by someone sitting in the backseat behind her. But despite having multiple persons of interest in her case, an arrest wasn't made for years. And even then, many were on the fence about his involvement. This is the murderer of Megan McDonald. Megan McDonald was born on May 2, 1982 in Queens, New York to parents Elizabeth or Betty Jo and Dennis, and grew up alongside two brothers and a sister.

Heath Merryman (5:18)

Interesting. Elizabeth and then Betty Jo.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (5:21)

Yeah. But her family moved to suburban Orange County, New York when Megan was still a kid. So there her family really prided themselves on being tight knit and hardworking. Like, her mom was a nurse and her dad was actually a detective with the NYPD who worked on the investigation of the first terrorist attack of the World Trade center in 1993.

Heath Merryman (5:45)

Yeah, I think some people that don't really know New York that well don't really realize that there actually was a terrorist attack before the 2001 attack.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (5:55)

I know, it's. It's weird. I feel like that's not as common knowledge for some reason.

Heath Merryman (5:58)

Yeah, some people just really don't think about it, I guess.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (6:00)

But yeah, so he worked on it and it's just, it's wild to like, as you guys will learn this story about Megan and What happened to her just to know that her dad was literally a detective. Megan attended Burke Catholic high school in 2000 and went on to enroll at Orange County Community College, where she was studying at the time of her death. So she stayed local for school. And the early 2000s were really hard on the McDonald family because just the year before Megan went missing in 2002, her dad Dennis passed away from a sudden heart attack. So it was very unexpected. And the whole family reeled from this unexplainable loss.

Heath Merryman (6:43)

I mean, you can't even imagine, just two years back to back. It's like her father, you know, passes away from a heart attack and then the very next year Megan goes missing.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (6:53)

Yeah, it's. It's truly unreal. And knowing that he died before she went missing, and you can only imagine what he would have done, especially as a detective, what he would have done to find who did this to his daughter.

Heath Merryman (7:09)

Oh, absolutely. I'm sure he would have been on it.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (7:12)

Well, despite this loss, friends remember people being drawn to Megan's infectious smile and her very warm, bubbly energy throughout her entire life. James Whelan, who was dating her sister Karen at the time and who became her brother in law after her death, recalled, quote, she was someone you would want on your side in an argument or a fight. She wasn't one to back down, which was a great character trait to have. Shortly before Megan went missing, she actually navigated a difficult breakup from her boyfriend, Edward Holly. However, though Edward seemed similarly distraught over losing her, this hadn't stopped him from seeing other women while they were together. So when she learned of his cheating, she left him. So it was kind of like hard on both of them, even though it was like, okay, well Edward, this is your fault. Maybe if you want to stay with her, you shouldn't have cheated on her.

Heath Merryman (8:08)

Yes. And Edward is going to be kind of a big point of contention in today's story. We're going to talk quite a bit about him.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (8:14)

Yeah. Remember Edward?

Heath Merryman (8:15)

Yeah. Because it's not, it's not just the cheating that we'll be talking about.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (8:18)

Oh, yeah. Well, then In March of 2003, 20 year old Megan started dating someone new, a man named Damian Lewis. And things seemed to be going well so far. Overall, since the loss of her dad, Megan was doing as well as she possibly could have been. In addition to her college studies, she was waiting tables at a restaurant in Middletown called the American Cafe and had just moved into a new apartment in the Hudson Valley. So still in the area of her family Home. According to her sister Karen, she was really proud to be out on her own, you know, working and making her own money. And she had also started receiving about $1,200 a month from her dad's pension, which was really helping with her school fees and her tuition.

Heath Merryman (9:06)

Now, on the morning of March 13, 2003, around 9:00am, Megan's landlord reported hearing a man in her unit with her, who was later confirmed to be Damien. Remember, this is her new boyfriend. And then about an hour later, Megan dropped him off at home, and then she headed to work. Now, he claimed that was the last time he ever saw her. Megan worked a morning shift at the restaurant, which was in the Galleria Mall in Middletown. Returning home around 3pm that day, she was then invited to a party in nearby Walk Hill that night, just down the street from her family home. But she declined this invite, knowing that her ex boyfriend, again, Edward Holly, would be there. And obviously, you know, after this breakup, she. She really didn't want to see him. But despite declining that invite, around 7pm that evening, she drove to the house party in Walk Hill with some friends of hers. But she stayed in the car, just chatting with them instead of going inside. She's like, I'll. I'll go with you, but I don't really want to see Edward, so I'm gonna chill in the car. She then told these friends that she was gonna hang out with Middletown people so that she could avoid seeing her ex at the party. Thus, she then headed to Middletown, which is about 30 minutes southwest from Walk Hill, bound for another friend's house. She spent the evening hanging out with friends, and while there, contacted several people who were not in attendance to see if any of them had any weed that she could buy off of them. And yeah, you got to remember this is 2003, so can't just walk into a dispensary. You got to go to a dealer. Such a sad time, really an interesting time. And I remember those times very well. You're like, oh, I gotta go talk to this sketchy ass dude, some weird

Daphne Wollsoncroft (10:53)

guy from a house you've never been to.

Heath Merryman (10:57)

So she left the party in Middletown around midnight and begrudgingly popped into the party in Wallkill in hopes of finding someone who had weed to offer. Though she only stayed for a few minutes.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (11:08)

She's like, I really don't wanna see Edward, but God, if I need to go in there to find somebody who's

Heath Merryman (11:13)

got some weed, yep, if I can just get a little bit of weed, then I'm outta Here. So then Megan took off late that night, even though the party was still going on, telling her friends that she had to work at the cafe the next morning and that she was going to head home. At some point along her way, she stopped at a gas station. And then at 12:25am she went by the home of Andre Thurston, pulling up to his house on Cindy Lane in Walk Hill, New York, located near the intersection of Cindy Lane and Greenway Terrace, where the house party was being held. This is a rural little hamlet of the Hudson Valley. Now, they chatted in her car and he told her that he didn't have any weed, to which she responded that she would be able to get some from Edward again, her ex. So it seems like she kinda said, you know, screw it, I'll talk to Edward so that I can get something from him. It'll be fine. And Andre claims that he then went inside and went to bed, though it's possible that he actually went with her.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (12:16)

And that's important to remember. He is saying he saw her for a second, she said she was gonna go see Edward, and then he went to bed. So is he being a little projection king here? Is he trying to divert the attention, saying, I don't know, I didn't see a thing?

Heath Merryman (12:30)

Yeah, she told me she was Edward. She told me she was gonna go get some weed from Edward instead.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (12:35)

Or did he stay in her car and did they go somewhere together right now in the story, as far as we know, he went inside his house and went to sleep. I said projection King, because that's, that's our new term as of last episode,

Heath Merryman (12:48)

but I think you've been deflection King.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (12:50)

Yeah, okay, we've, we've got two new terms, guys. So a few minutes later, a car believed to be Megan's white Mercury Sable was seen driving down Freezer Road, which is the access road to the Kensington Manor apartment. Megan's white Mercury Sable was being followed closely by a small, dark colored vehicle, which was identified as a possible Honda Civic hatchback. Dawn Young, who lived in the Kensington Manor complex, first told police that she had seen two vehicles circle the complex's parking lot around 2am that morning, one of which was a dark colored car and the other of which was a white car with a black stripe. The next time she was questioned, she guessed that the first car was a dark colored hatchback. And when she was eventually called to testify before a grand jury about this very sighting, she explained, quote, I can't recall now, it was like a Honda Civic she also added this time that the dark car that she believed was a Honda Civic was following the white car and that it was around 12:30am, not 2am as she originally stated, which, remember, Meghan had left the party shortly after 12:30am Right.

Heath Merryman (14:09)

So this would definitely match up.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (14:11)

Yes. Well, dawn, who lived in the Kensington Manor apartment complex, remember, was surprised to hear what she described as thunderous music playing out of a passing car, which was apparently coming from the dark colored Honda Civic behind Megan Sable. So she's like, what the hell is this music? You know, like you said, this is a little New York hamlet. She's like, what is that noise? And looks out and that's when she sees the cars.

Heath Merryman (14:36)

Which this is. Honestly, this kind of helps in the investigation because had it been somewhere in the middle of the city, I feel like she probably wouldn't have paid as much attention to this. But because like you said, it's kind of rural, it's kind of quiet. She's like, why are people blasting music this late at night?

Daphne Wollsoncroft (14:54)

Totally. Well, a few minutes later, she heard them drive past her window a second time. And it was so loud that the woman remembered how odd it was again for that late in the evening, especially for it to happen twice, which is why she tipped off police about it. But also, by the way, this was a Thursday night in March, so it's not like it's a Saturday night, everybody's out party. Exactly Thursday evening. So later that day, Friday, March 14, 2003, Megan's family and friends began to notice that she was dodging their calls, or at least she wasn't answering them. So as time passed, they grew more and more alarmed at her avoidance and wondered if something was wrong. You know, now she has her new apartment, she's working, so there's, you know, her. Her parents aren't able to keep tabs on her in the same way, but they're like, why isn't she answering any of us?

Heath Merryman (15:49)

Yeah. So they at first believe that she's just kind of avoiding them.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (15:52)

Well, concern really grew when she missed her scheduled 12pm shift at her restaurant that day that Friday. Later that day, a resident of Kensington Manor noticed that a white Mercury Sable, later confirmed to be Megan's car, was parked at an odd angle in the back of the building. And another day later, her family would receive the news they were dreading. On Saturday, March 15, 2003, around 1pm, a man and his nephew were out walking along Bowser Road, which is a dirt road on their Walk Hill property, and came Upon Megan's body, who was quickly identified via her driver's license. 20 year old Megan had been brutally beaten and succumbed to injuries from blunt force trauma. Noted forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Sigurica performed her autopsy and found that she had suffered multiple fractures to her face as well as a fracture to her collarbone and skull. Her hands were dotted with dried blood and defensive wounds, Indicating that she put up as much of a fight as she could have. Now, the autopsy concluded that she had most likely died in the early morning hours of Friday, March 14, which was shortly after she had left that party. Detectives figured that whoever had discarded her body in the field along the dirt road had known where they were going because not only was it private property, but it was a fairly remote location. So they surmised that the killer likely lived in the area and had visited that exact plot of land prior to discarding Megan's body.

Heath Merryman (17:42)

When her car was discovered in the parking lot of nearby Kensington Manor, it was brought in to be searched. Of course, they need to see if there's anything in there that could lead them to why Megan's body would be in that field. And based on blood spatter evidence, Homicide detectives believe that she was still in the driver's seat when she was met with the attack that killed her, and that her killer likely struck from behind While seated in the backseat on the driver's side. Megan was then dragged out of her car, where her attacker likely finished the job after last being seen with her. Andre Thurston was questioned, but claimed that Megan merely picked him up and that they had chatted for a while before she dropped him back off at home. He guessed that they had only spent a few minutes together, but whether or not this is true is still unknown.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (18:33)

Yeah, like we said, it's a little questionable.

Heath Merryman (18:37)

Well, when Megan's devices and account were scanned for anything out of the ordinary, Detectives stumbled upon something pretty surprising. Megan had overdrafted her account by over $800 in the days prior to her murder, which was very unlike her usually fiscally responsible self. Now, of course, as her most recent ex boyfriend, Edward Holly, was also questioned and actually admitted that he had owed Megan money, but that he was planning on paying her back. He declined having anything to do with her murder, nor having any knowledge of who was responsible. He also told detectives that he had only owed her about $300, which is money that he fully intended on repaying. After Megan generously helped him out when he was in a bind, she offered up the difference that he needed, apparently in order to purchase A car which happened to be a purple Honda Civic hatchback, the exact model that his neighbor recalled being the car that was blasting music and following Megan's car on the night that she disappeared.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (19:46)

And purple cars are always like a dark purple. This isn't a lavender Honda Civic. It's a dark colored one.

Heath Merryman (19:52)

Yep.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (19:53)

Just like Don saw from her window. But her friends raised issues with his retelling of events, of course, claiming that the amount that Edward owed her was actually $3,000. Big difference. And that this was the main reason that they had broken up in the first place. Not only had he cheated, but he borrowed a lot of money from her and wasn't paying her back. Like, just in many ways, it's like, this is not my man. This is.

Heath Merryman (20:20)

Yeah. You know, and if he's not.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (20:22)

He's not. He's not a good one.

Heath Merryman (20:23)

And if he's kind of trying to like, like, basically insinuate, oh, it wasn't that much money, you know, that obviously looks suspicious if they found out that really it was $3,000.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (20:33)

Yeah. Because if you're fibbing about $3,000 being 300, what else are you fibbing about? What else are you not being honest about? Why would you lie about that?

Heath Merryman (20:42)

Sure.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (20:43)

So this explained that overdraft on Megan's account and also gave Edward a motive for wanting to hurt me. Factors.

Heath Merryman (20:52)

Yeah. So now we're talking about a few things here where, you know, he's. He owes her money that he doesn't really want to pay her back.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (20:58)

Yeah.

Heath Merryman (20:58)

She also broke things off with him. And as you're about to say, Daphne, you know, she moved on to a new boyfriend pretty quickly. So was this. Were these three things compiled together a good motive for Edward? Holly?

Daphne Wollsoncroft (21:10)

Well, yes, because. Yes, Edward actually was really upset with Megan. I said earlier that he didn't want the relationship to end, but he was actually mad that she had moved on to Damien so fast from him because he didn't want to break up. So he's like, you've already moved on. You're already with a new guy. Like, he was not happy with her, even though she's more than allowed to do that, especially when he's the one in the wrong.

Heath Merryman (21:33)

And this is a big. Usually a pretty big motive. When we talk about true crime and relationships and people breaking up, it's like scorned love. Yeah. One person just can't handle the rejection and they can't move on.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (21:45)

Exactly. Well, when Edward was questioned, he admitted that they had gotten into a fight the week or so prior to her disappearance, which had resulted in her breaking off the relationship, so earlier when we said that she had just gotten with Damien in March, remember, this is all happening mid March. So it's like she literally. She and Edward broke up, and she within days was already, like, casually going out with a different guy who a lot of sources say was her boyfriend. But of course, this was very, very fresh.

Heath Merryman (22:17)

Yeah. And of course, she can also fucking do that.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (22:20)

Yeah, absolutely.

Heath Merryman (22:21)

She's 20 years old.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (22:22)

Yep, totally. Like we said, the night of that party, the night she was last seen was on Thursday, March 13. And their final phone call took place on March 11. But in the days surrounding their breakup, the week prior, they had called each other nearly 50 times. He also admitted to police that he was a weed dealer and that Megan was a client and had attempted to buy weed from him on the night of her disappearance. This is why she knew she could get it from him. Because he sold weed.

Heath Merryman (22:55)

Yeah, exactly. So all the pieces are starting to fall into place here. You know, he's admitting that, yeah, she did buy some weed from me on that night.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (23:04)

But also the fact that he's like, she was my client.

Heath Merryman (23:07)

Like, what?

Daphne Wollsoncroft (23:08)

She's a little more than your client. You know, he's trying to make it seem a certain way. Right. But he also said that after seeing her briefly at the party, he headed home and went to bed. And this is obviously exactly what Andre said.

Heath Merryman (23:23)

Apparently, after anything happens in this story, everybody just goes home and goes to bed. Huh.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (23:27)

Which is also what Megan said she was doing when she left the party.

Heath Merryman (23:31)

Everybody's going home and go to bed. Right.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (23:32)

But it doesn't seem. Seem like any of them went home and went to bed, if you ask me.

Heath Merryman (23:35)

No.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (23:36)

In the 23 years since the onset of this investigation, the FBI and the police have taken in over 800 tips from the community and compiled over a thousand pieces of evidence. And for years, nothing was concrete enough to arrest a suspect. Because if you can't tell, we really don't have anything against Edward.

Heath Merryman (24:01)

Yeah, exactly. It's just, you know, maybe he was there with her that night, but maybe he was asleep. Yeah, but coulda. Yeah, could have been asleep. And then also, then we just have her body in a field in her

Daphne Wollsoncroft (24:14)

car and dawn saying she saw a dark colored Honda Civic, which is like, okay, well, other people also have dark colored Honda Civics. So there's just a lot of questions and no answers. However, as advancements in DNA were made, cold case investigators refocused their investigation on the car that Megan left behind her white sable and believe that there was much more information to be gleaned from it. Of course. Hello, DNA.

Heath Merryman (24:42)

Yeah. And, you know, I gotta say, this happened in 2003. But why did it take so long to process her car? Like, was there just really not that much that they could find back then?

Daphne Wollsoncroft (24:53)

Apparently, it's like this was really. This was really when things. So many things were changing with DNA technology.

Heath Merryman (25:01)

Sure.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (25:02)

So I. Obviously, they did process her car, as you told us, but they just didn't have what they needed quite yet. Actually, it wasn't until 2007 that things really got kicking. But I will say, oddly, before then, both men implicated in her case suffered terrible fates after she did.

Heath Merryman (25:24)

Yes, because on January 13th of 2007, Edward Hawley, who was about 25 years old at this time, was charged with driving while intoxicated, driving without a license, failure to wear a seatbelt, failure to keep right, driving too fast for the weather conditions, as well as driving while being an aggravated unlicensed operator. But his fate would be worse than any charge that the court could dole out because the crash left him paralyzed from the waist down. And though he was found liable for the charges brought against him, he was actually released from the hospital without having to serve a sentence due to the extent of his injuries. The following year, on April 30th of 2008, the first significant development in years came when David Hoover, who's a former district attorney who had transitioned to private practice, informed the district attorney's office that he was actually representing somebody who was involved in Megan's murder. David explained, I have a client who approached me about potentially negotiating a deal. He was involved in the Megan McDonald case. He had some information that a Stanley Balpeen hammer was used, and his client, later identified as Andre Thurston. Remember that guy? Also shared that this was a group effort from two participants admitting that he had insider information, either because he knows who did it or because he was a part of it.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (27:02)

Which I think is interesting that he approaches the old district attorney and says, hey, I want to make a plea deal because I have information that just makes you look like you did it. It's not like you're submitting a tip to police and saying, hey, I heard this rumor and I really want to help out. Yeah, like, it feels like you were a part of this and you don't want to get in trouble later and you just want to get it over with.

Heath Merryman (27:27)

I mean, yeah. And it's possible that maybe he had been hearing about like possible advancements of DNA testing. And he got a little nervous and was like, oh, shit, you know, maybe I'll have to roll over on a certain somebody. Well, subsequently, there were 10 phone calls between David and the District Attorney's office. But obviously Andre offered up the most key detail, which would have been only known to those who were involved in Megan's murder, which was that Megan had been killed using a Stanley Brand balpeen hammer and that whoever had killed her discarded the murder weapon in a body of water. But less than two years later, Andre Thurston died of an overdose on March 20, 2010. So it's like just as soon as this whole thing starts to get into motion, Andre passes away.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (28:17)

Yeah. And before they can really. I mean, obviously, like you said, this was two years after he had started contacting David Hoover, the former district attorney.

Heath Merryman (28:27)

Yeah.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (28:27)

But then it's like they didn't even have time to do anything with that information or find other information to go along with it. And then he dies. And then it makes you wonder if he died of an overdose because maybe he was so destroyed by what he had done, what he had helped cover up, what he knew had happened from somebody else's hand or by somebody else's hand.

Heath Merryman (28:48)

I mean, definitely. Well, according to his girlfriend, Nina Schutzman, who actually now works as an investigative reporter and actually Andre shares one of his two children with. He was addicted to opiates and anti anxiety medication before his death. And though nobody can be sure, like Daphne just said, speculation is that he was wracked with guilt over helping Edward dispose of Megan's body and being present when she died. And that he used the drugs kind of as a coping mechanism. And though it would take Until June of 2018, New York State Police would finally publicly identify their two suspects, both Edward Holly as well as Andre Thurston, claiming that they had reason to believe that both men were in that car at the time that Megan was murdered.

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Narrator/Commercial Voice (35:10)

Foreign.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (35:15)

As we mentioned earlier, it was the investigators theory that her killer had been behind her in the back seat while she was sitting in the front seat of her car. Well, get this. In a search of Megan's car, Edward's DNA was found on the back seat on the driver's side.

Heath Merryman (35:36)

Yeah. Not just in the car because obviously we know that they dated. So there's a possibility that maybe he had been in Megan's car at some point. It's on the seat behind the driver's side seat.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (35:48)

Yeah. And this is why we were saying earlier they couldn't determine this until, you know, DNA technology was more advanced even though obviously DNA testing existed in 2003. But back then you needed like a larger cleaner sample to be able to, to find a match.

Heath Merryman (36:06)

Right. Now they can just use like a microscopic little piece of evidence.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (36:10)

Yeah, and that's what they had. They had a small DNA SAMP that was possibly degraded so they, they couldn't find a match back then. And I would also imagine that they didn't have Edward's DNA because it's not like he was. He was. He wasn't giving up his DNA and offering all this information. They didn't even really deem him, like, a somewhat credible suspect until 15 years later. So that's why this took so long. But obviously, this is really important evidence to have. So at that point, based on the blood spatter evidence and the DNA they found, investigators believed that Edward was sitting behind Megan when he attacked her with a hammer, while Andre looked on from the front seat. Now, based on her injuries, Edward likely then dragged her out of the car and continued his attack before forcing Andrew to help him dispose of her body. Now, interestingly, Megan and Edward's cell phone data also placed them in the same vicinity at the time of her murder.

Heath Merryman (37:18)

Which is, like, insane to think about the fact that it took this long, but, you know, like, having the cell phones in the same vicinity. Dawn Young saying that she witnessed the car.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (37:30)

Yeah. So now it feels like they have enough.

Heath Merryman (37:32)

Yeah. It's like, oh, my God, this guy did it.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (37:35)

Yeah. So the police are like, holy shit. Yeah. Don Young with the car. We have this DNA evidence. Their phones are in the same place

Heath Merryman (37:42)

as well as, like, him literally telling them. He said that he met up with Megan and sold her weed.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (37:47)

Yeah. Well, to the dismay of New York State Police Captain Brad Natalizio and the entirety of the investigation, Andre's attorney again, David Hoover, the. The former district attorney, informed Edward Holly, of course, that he was a prime suspect in the murder. So he's saying this before the police announced it themselves. So it's almost like he's giving a suspect, you know, internal, like, secret information.

Heath Merryman (38:17)

Yeah. And this really does screw with the integrity of the investigation.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (38:21)

And you think, as a former da, like, he would know that you're not supposed to do that.

Heath Merryman (38:25)

Yeah.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (38:25)

So this is really pissing Brad off. So Brad Natalizio admitted the fact that David Hoover told him that the police would continue to investigate him, tampered with future investigations. Well, it would take until June of 2018, but Brad Natalizio felt that he had enough evidence to finally pursue an indictment against his most likely suspect, Edward Hawley, whom he felt had a clear motive since Andre was already deceased at this point. Of course, he died eight years earlier. Efforts were focused on putting Edward behind bars. So he attempted to secure an eavesdropping warrant on Edward Holly, but it was dropped on March 12, 2019, for lack of probable cause. Like, Brad is really trying to get whatever he can. Edward was questioned a total of four times and never admitted fault or responsibility for what happened to Megan. But in 2019, he did offer up a new detail previously unknown to investigators. In the days before her murder, Megan had apparently told him that she was pregnant. But investigators confirmed that this actually was untrue. She wasn't found to be pregnant. So why he would tell them, like, I don't know what. What the relevance was to him to say this?

Heath Merryman (39:54)

Yeah, that would just honestly add more motive to you, you dumbass. Like, what exactly?

Daphne Wollsoncroft (39:59)

No, exactly. But they're like, what are you talking about? No, she wasn't, but he's saying that she told him that she was. And so then the police are like, did you think the baby was yours? And he said he assumed that it was, which, like, you're saying, would just give him more motive. So I also don't know why he would make this up. Maybe she really did say that to him. But it's not clear whether she was saying that to try to get him back or to get a rise out of him or she actually believed it was true. Like, we don't know why she said this, and if she did, I kind

Heath Merryman (40:35)

of feel like it's probably not to get him back. The guy that owes you $3,000 that you left, and you're already moved on and, like, with a new guy, you know, I know.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (40:44)

It's just. It's hard to think of why then. Then why?

Heath Merryman (40:47)

Yeah, that's just really confusing to me.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (40:48)

It's. It's strange.

Heath Merryman (40:50)

Well, at the time of the interview, Edward told the officers, quote, I just know that someone has to take the blame for this. He also implicated Andre, believing that Andre was actually the one who was jealous and that he was responsible for the murder. Edward described Andre as abusive and possessive and added that he was angry about her involvement with a man that she had just started seeing before her death. Again, this was Damian Lewis. On March 18, 2022, Brad listened in on calls between Edward and his wife, this woman named Diane, in prison. And this time, it was Diane who was serving a prison sentence after violating the terms of her parole. So Edward told Diane that David Hoover told him, if you want to take a plea right now and tell me whatever will put you somewhere where you won't go into a maximum facility where it's not so harsh.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (41:49)

Which is interesting, because it's almost like he's saying, hey, my wife, Diane. Like, you know how I did this thing? Well, he said, I could get a deal if I tell him. I mean, maybe not. It could have been more of an informative conversation between a husband and wife. But it's interesting and it's also like, again, this is not David's job. He's in private practice. He's not the, the investigator on this case who's trying to negotiate something. So he's like really stepping into something he shouldn't be.

Heath Merryman (42:16)

Yeah, completely agree. Well, David Hoover, who serves as the district attorney for Orange county, added that Edward was their key suspect, that he and his wife should be wary about phone communication in and outside of prison, and that if he cooperated, he may get a plea deal. Welp. Then, on April 20th of 2023, Edward Holly, at 42 years old, was arrested for Megan's murder. Almost 20 years exactly since the murder occurred. That same day, a press conference was held announcing Edward's arrest and the police's determination to secure conviction in this case. Both Herron and James Whelan, Megan's sister and of course, her brother in law, spoke to the crowd of supporters and the press. And James told the community, we say today, all eyes are now on you. We are all watching Megan's family, the community, and the media. Justice for Megan does not only mean handcuffs at this point. This monster, this coward has been able to live freely for nearly as long as Megan was alive on this earth. Megan's family will continue the fight.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (43:31)

That march, 20 years after Megan's death, the Shawangunk Lake reservoir, just a 20 minute drive from the Kensington Apartments, was searched for a murder weapon. Remember, they were told that a hammer.

Heath Merryman (43:45)

Right. Was thrown into a body of water.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (43:47)

Exactly. So this is where they're searching. So state police divers dutifully entered the water and scoured this lake for any sign of that hammer, but unfortunately, they found none. So whether that just wasn't the right space, I mean, I can't imagine they threw it in that lake and then like fished it out. So we can just assume that was not the right body of water.

Heath Merryman (44:09)

Yeah, probably somewhere else.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (44:11)

Well, at the time, Edward was still incarcerated for his unrelated drug charges. So this meant that investigators had a finite amount of time to build their case while he was still behind bars. However, just a week later, Edward was released from custody. So then suddenly he was free and they hadn't built a case against him fast enough. They had really hoped that a grand jury could convene in time and indict him, but they just couldn't, and Edward was released on a technicality. However, prosecutors were dogged about getting Edward to trial. And on January 29, 2024, a grand jury indictment finally implicated Edward for the second degree murder of Megan McDonald. The FBI built out a profile of him, describing him as narcissistic and controlling. And according to Brad Natalizio years ago, he was a very intimidating individual, and people were scared of him. Not anymore. People were scared of him back in the day. He was very manipulative with some of his friends, the women that he dated, and people were afraid to come forward with any information. While being taken to a police car, Edward told a crowd of press, they're parading me like some freaking monkey here, but it's all good, okay? In another appearance, when asked if he wanted to say anything to Meghan's family, Edwards shared, I didn't do it. I loved Meghan. Meghan was a great lover, great friend. And while he did, his daughters looked on, vocalizing their support for their dad and their belief in his innocence.

Heath Merryman (45:55)

Well, in response to the case that the prosecution had built against them, Edwards attorney Paul Weber said sternly, their whole position is fantasyland. They want it to be him. They're trying to make it be him. They're desperate to try and get a conviction. However, Megan's family were more relieved than ever. Karen told reporters, quote, for the first time in 21 years, Edward Holly is going to jail for the murder of Megan McDonald. Not for any other reason, but for the murder of Megan McDonald. Our family is beyond grateful, and we are relieved. According to Megan's family, the case has been marred with corruption and mishandling from the beginning, in particular by David Frickin Hoover. Now, obviously, as we know, David was kind of putting his nose where he shouldn't in a way that Brad Natalizio felt was going to kind of destroy the investigation. But also, when Brad was seeking an eavesdropping warrant for Edward Holly, he learned that an Orange county judge named Craig Stephen Brown had called a state police officer off the record to ask if his brother in law, Jason Rivera, was a suspect in Megan's case. Though he had been surpassed by other more viable suspects, Jason was actually at one time a person of interest. Jason was questioned in connection with the murder and admitted to knowing Edward Holly and having played basketball with him, which was information that the investigation would have wanted. But according to Megan's family, who were growing irate at the mounting suspicion of corruption surrounding Megan's case, an internal police report described Jason Rivera as, quote, a key person of interest due to his relationship with the main suspect during the time frame of the homicide.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (47:49)

And now here's this judge asking Jason's brother in law, hey, you know, is he a suspect?

Heath Merryman (47:56)

And, yeah, so it's like, give me some info.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (47:58)

Yeah. And it's like too many people are doing this. And because it was off the record, it's like, it's just so many little shady doings, goings, ons.

Heath Merryman (48:07)

Yeah. These are things that are not supposed to be happening behind the scenes. Well, back on March 26th of 2020, Brad and Adelizio sought a warrant for Edward's Google account, but it was declined by Judge Craig Steven Brown.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (48:23)

Yeah. So with the power that he has, it's like you shouldn't be sneaking and doing your own digging.

Heath Merryman (48:28)

Yeah, corruption. So by then, investigators had concluded that they were no longer comfortable with Judge Brown's proximity to the case. They're like, yeah, because you're looking into this, you're. You're kind of like you're being really shady. Like, we don't think that you should be anywhere near this.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (48:46)

Yeah. And you're going to mess this up for us just like David Hoover almost did. So it's just, it's really disappointing.

Heath Merryman (48:52)

It's a lot of incompetence.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (48:54)

Well, against all odds, on March 3, 2025, the trial of Edward Hawley began. His defense attorney argued that there was not enough conclusive DNA evidence tying Edward to her actual murder. But there was a cigar butt found in the ashtray of Megan's car containing the DNA of Megan and her ex boyfriend, a guy named Paul Simpson. Now, Paul, who we have not yet talked about, actually testified later at trial because he was still in her friend group and he was also dating someone else when Megan was killed. But when they were together, their relationship was known to be volatile and even, in his own admission, sometimes physical. But according to Paul, they were friendly after they broke up. Yet for whatever reason, the day before she died, she called him twice in the afternoon, which he couldn't explain, saying he had no clue why she had called because he didn't answer. He claimed that after she died, everyone thought that he had killed her, but that he had nothing to hide and he wasn't involved. So it seems that his DNA being on that cigar was just from like a different time they hung out because there were no other reports of his DNA being found in suspicious places in the vehicle. And he wasn't known to be with her the night she was killed. But some reports suggest that she went to his house on the night that she died, which was in Middletown. Remember, she said she was going to hang out with Middletown people, but after that, Paul was known to be popping around Middletown bars, even calling a Taxi service. At the time, Megan is believed to have been killed going to the house of the girl that he was seeing. So police ruled him out, and he appeared to be pretty forthcoming with what he knew. So now let's get back to Andre and Edward, who, of course, are believed by many to have committed this crime together. Now, interestingly, there was a kitchen knife found under a seat in Megan's car with Andre Thurston's DNA on it. But this wasn't determined to be used in her attack, and it's looked at as more of an albeit strange incidental item. And also, Andre's DNA couldn't be excluded from DNA found on an interior car door. Oh, and also, reports conclude that both of their DNA, both Andre and Edward, was found on Megan's cell phone. Some reports suggest it was only Edward's and that Andre's wasn't confirmed without a doubt. A lot of people don't even fully believe that Edwards was confirmed without a doubt. Basically, with Edwards, it was like, 53 more times to be Edwards DNA than somebody else's. So, you know, it's one of those things.

Heath Merryman (51:59)

Yeah. So it feels likely that it is him, but you just can't say for sure.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (52:03)

Exactly. But if both of their DNA was found on her phone, that would be kind of interesting, because, I don't know. I never touch my friend's phones. You know, maybe you'll. We'll be in the car, and you'll tell me to text someone back because you're driving or change the music or do the maps, but why would they both touch it?

Heath Merryman (52:19)

Yeah. And the thing that's pissing me off here is the fact that there's so much here. It's like.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (52:24)

It's like it's. There's so much, but there's not enough.

Heath Merryman (52:26)

Yeah, it's like there's so much that points to them being responsible. Hey, we were with her that night. She was buying weed from us. Oh, there's my DNA on a. On a cigar in her ashtray. Oh, we both touched her cell phone. But then it's like, yeah, but what if they were just hanging out in the car, though?

Daphne Wollsoncroft (52:41)

I know, because it's. That's so true. But there's also the other side of us that's like. But you probably weren't, you know.

Heath Merryman (52:48)

Yeah.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (52:49)

Well, the prosecution put up an eyewitness who had been in prison with Edward Hawley. This was a jailhouse informant named John DiCaprio, who claims that he had overheard Edward talking about how he had brutally beaten Megan inside her own car, which obviously is exactly what happened to her. But police informants often lie so that they can get something. So can we believe this? I'm not sure.

Heath Merryman (53:14)

Yeah, and John's brother is, like, this amazing actor, so it's possible that he's really good at acting, too. Oh, my God. Sorry.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (53:21)

That was actually really funny. So John was in the prison's medical unit at the same time as Edward. And he also said that he remembered hearing Edward confess to the crime to other inmates and that he described being picked up by Megan on the night of her murder, but that she made him sit in the back because she was mad at him. So, you know, John does seem to

Heath Merryman (53:45)

have some information and also just more fricking motive.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (53:49)

Right. So then John DiCaprio claimed that Edward then told the inmates how he hit her on the back of the head from the seat behind her and then strangled her. The Kensington Manor where Megan's car was found in the complex where Edward lived was located just 500ft from where her body was found. And as we mentioned earlier, police believe that somebody with intimate knowledge of this area had killed her and stashed her body there.

Heath Merryman (54:19)

I mean, come on, 500ft, like, from the place where the dude lives who is her ex boyfriend, who she met up with that night? Like, you can't. This is just insane to me.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (54:31)

I know. It's honestly ridiculous. Ultimately, the motive was presented as jealousy over Megan's new relationship with Damian and his unpaid debt to her. Edward's unpaid debt. But the jury remained unconvinced due to the lack of concrete evidence. You know, maybe his blood or the murder weapon or something that really pointed to him being connected to the actual murder, other than all these little maybes or circling around us. And in a hung jury of three for guilty and nine for not guilty, the judge was forced to conclude the court proceedings in a mistrial. Edward Holly actually, once again, was just standing trial for Megan McDonald's murder for the second time, which concluded the day we are recording this episode on March 18, 2026, just over 23 years exactly from when Megan was killed on March 11th of this year. So just last week, the jury announced that they were deadlocked and failed to reach a unanimous decision about Edward's fate. So again, this new batch of jurors is like, we also don't know. So in hopes of circumventing a mistrial, again, Judge Hunchin Kim asks that they continue deliberating. She's like, figure it out. And so they did. And on Wednesday, March 18, on day 14 of deliberations, 45 year old Edward Holly was acquitted for the murder of Megan McDonald. So he was found to be not guilty of the crime despite multiple jurors admitting that they thought he was guilty. But again, so many weren't convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he had done it and just didn't feel comfortable finding him guilty because there we don't have the murder weapon, we don't have, you know, his blood and anything that would really point to him committing the murder more so that he was with her that night, which would then make us believe that he committed the murder. Right.

Heath Merryman (56:35)

But still, I gotta say though, even though he was found not guilty, if he actually was responsible for this murder, I think life kind of threw a little bit of its own vengeance towards Edward Holly in that car crash, to be honest with you.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (56:53)

Yeah. He remains paralyzed and in a wheelchair to this day.

Heath Merryman (56:57)

Well, after his release, he told the Mid Hudson News, it is only right for me to be a free man. I didn't do anything. I should never have been in jail. But like Daphne just said, many don't think that this was just and think that he is guilty of murdering Megan and that justice won't be coming in her case due to the way that this trial kind of unfolded and that

Daphne Wollsoncroft (57:21)

if Andre committed the crime with him and he's deceased, then it's really not coming.

Heath Merryman (57:26)

Yeah, because Andre definitely would have been able to give us a little more insight into that night. Prosecutors Julia Cornaccio and Laura Murphy stated this after the verdict was ready. We are disappointed in the verdict reached by the jury, but we accept and thank the jury members for their service. The family has yet to release a statement, but we can imagine that they're all feeling the weight of this unimaginable loss, either because they're sure that Edward Holly had done it or because now they know that whoever really did it is still out there somewhere living freely after what they did to Megan McDonald.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (58:14)

Thank you so much everybody for listening to this episode of Going West.

Heath Merryman (58:18)

Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode. I'm really, I really don't know what to think about this case, to be honest.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (58:25)

I sure as agree with you.

Heath Merryman (58:26)

You know, it's like a lot of people really do believe that Edward was responsible, but because of the fumbling of this case case throughout the decades that it was unsolved, it really feels like that's the reason why Edward is still a free man today.

Daphne Wollsoncroft (58:41)

And I understand why they made the decision they did Like, I really do. And I. Obviously, they deliberated on it for so long. Like, they really took their time.

Heath Merryman (58:51)

Yeah. It was like, 14 days, right?

Daphne Wollsoncroft (58:53)

Yeah. They wanted to make sure that they weren't making the wrong decision, and they just felt like in the end, that was the safest thing because there wasn't quite enough there. Even if in all of our hearts, we're like, okay, but he probably did it. That's just. That's honestly not enough. And it's absolutely heartbreaking. But even if we feel strongly that he did, I just wish so, so badly that the prosecution would have had more.

Heath Merryman (59:16)

Yeah, I do, too. You know, it's really unfortunate for Megan's family. I feel terrible that they had to live through that, and they're still living with this nightmare because we imagine they

Daphne Wollsoncroft (59:26)

must feel so hopeless now, not having justice for her and, like you said, worried that they may never get that. So, again, thank you so much for tuning in. Big shout out to Emily for recommending this case, and we will see you guys on Tuesday.

Heath Merryman (59:44)

All right, guys. So for everybody out there in the

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