Ex-LIer Samantha Garnier fatally stabbed upstate by husband, state police say; 2 girls also wounded
New York State Police investigate the scene on Houck Road in upstate Masonville where a former Long Island woman and her two children were stabbed. Credit: New York State Police
A 32-year-old man has been charged with murder after a stabbing upstate that left his pregnant wife dead and their two young daughters hospitalized, New York State Police and family said.
The victim, Samantha Garnier, 29, was five months pregnant when she was fatally stabbed Wednesday night, state police said. She grew up on Long Island before moving to Masonville in the western Catskill Mountains, according to her mother, Jean Vernagallo, of Centereach. Vernagallo declined to comment further.
The two girls, ages 6 and 9, are recovering at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.
During a news conference on Friday outside Troop C headquarters in Unadilla, about 100 miles southwest of Albany, State Police Major Lucas Shuta, the troop's commander, said the girls were "expected to make a full recovery" and would eventually be released to relatives.
"Family members have arrived from outside of the area and will be caring for the girls upon their release from the hospital," Shuta said.
Drew Garnier, who surrendered at the scene, was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder on Thursday morning at Delhi Town Court. He remains at Delaware County Jail without bail, according to state police.
Prosecutors are also working on convening a grand jury before Wednesday, when a felony preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled, Delaware County District Attorney Shawn Smith said during the Friday news conference.
Police said troopers found the stabbing victims at a Houck Road home in Masonville shortly before 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday. They were responding to a 911 call placed by Drew Garnier, who reported a domestic dispute there.
A 911 dispatcher told responding troopers that the husband was trying to apply pressure to his wife's wounds to stop the bleeding, according to an investigative report filed by state police.
Troopers Corey King and Ronald King approached the home, a double-wide trailer with a covered front porch, with medical bags and their guns drawn to treat the injured woman when they saw Drew Garnier poke his head out of the front door and then duck back in, according to the officers' account.
The troopers said that they heard a single "high-velocity" gunshot and retreated to the end of the driveway to wait for backup from a Delaware County Sheriff's deputy.
Using the sheriff's patrol car as a shield, the officers again approached the home, according to the report.
Before they could get to the house, the 9-year-old daughter ran from the home to police wearing bloodstained clothes, the troopers said. She told them her mother had been stabbed and that there was a man, later identified as Drew Garnier, inside the home with a gun, the officer said. As they continued to approach, the second daughter, whose clothes were also stained with blood, fled the house, according to police.
With the children safely secured away from the property, the officers called into the home for Drew Garnier to come out with his hands up, the troopers said, and troopers were able to arrest him.
The officers said he was covered in blood with wounds on his hands. They said they found a butter knife in his left front pocket.
Inside the home, the officers said, they found Samantha Garnier lying on her side with multiple stab wounds, still conscious. She was airlifted to UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, where she later died.
Troopers said they found a spent shell casing and an AR-15-style rifle covered in blood with a high-capacity magazine.
A 32-year-old man has been charged with murder after a stabbing upstate that left his pregnant wife dead and their two young daughters hospitalized, New York State Police and family said.
The victim, Samantha Garnier, 29, was five months pregnant when she was fatally stabbed Wednesday night, state police said. She grew up on Long Island before moving to Masonville in the western Catskill Mountains, according to her mother, Jean Vernagallo, of Centereach. Vernagallo declined to comment further.
The two girls, ages 6 and 9, are recovering at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.
During a news conference on Friday outside Troop C headquarters in Unadilla, about 100 miles southwest of Albany, State Police Major Lucas Shuta, the troop's commander, said the girls were "expected to make a full recovery" and would eventually be released to relatives.
"Family members have arrived from outside of the area and will be caring for the girls upon their release from the hospital," Shuta said.
Drew Garnier, who surrendered at the scene, was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder on Thursday morning at Delhi Town Court. He remains at Delaware County Jail without bail, according to state police.
Prosecutors are also working on convening a grand jury before Wednesday, when a felony preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled, Delaware County District Attorney Shawn Smith said during the Friday news conference.
Police said troopers found the stabbing victims at a Houck Road home in Masonville shortly before 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday. They were responding to a 911 call placed by Drew Garnier, who reported a domestic dispute there.
A 911 dispatcher told responding troopers that the husband was trying to apply pressure to his wife's wounds to stop the bleeding, according to an investigative report filed by state police.
Troopers Corey King and Ronald King approached the home, a double-wide trailer with a covered front porch, with medical bags and their guns drawn to treat the injured woman when they saw Drew Garnier poke his head out of the front door and then duck back in, according to the officers' account.
The troopers said that they heard a single "high-velocity" gunshot and retreated to the end of the driveway to wait for backup from a Delaware County Sheriff's deputy.
Using the sheriff's patrol car as a shield, the officers again approached the home, according to the report.
Before they could get to the house, the 9-year-old daughter ran from the home to police wearing bloodstained clothes, the troopers said. She told them her mother had been stabbed and that there was a man, later identified as Drew Garnier, inside the home with a gun, the officer said. As they continued to approach, the second daughter, whose clothes were also stained with blood, fled the house, according to police.
With the children safely secured away from the property, the officers called into the home for Drew Garnier to come out with his hands up, the troopers said, and troopers were able to arrest him.
The officers said he was covered in blood with wounds on his hands. They said they found a butter knife in his left front pocket.
Inside the home, the officers said, they found Samantha Garnier lying on her side with multiple stab wounds, still conscious. She was airlifted to UHS Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, where she later died.
Troopers said they found a spent shell casing and an AR-15-style rifle covered in blood with a high-capacity magazine.
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