[NC] Deputy Muller killed his in-laws w/ wife & infant present

...Earlier on June 27, the day of the murders, Mrs. Muller had made application to the Columbia County Court for a full Order of Protection... Jurors heard from a man who said Mr. Muller had asked him to kill his wife, Christie Lynch Muller, to prevent her from testifying against him...

This is a case I didn't have. The murders happened in June of 2006, and Muller was sentenced in June of 2007. There are pages of discussion about this tragedy here.

DOUBLE HOMICIDE - TOWN OF CHATHAM

Columbia County Sheriff's Office

Media Release 06.28.06

Contact: Lieutenant James E. Andrews

85 Industrial Tract - Hudson, NY 12534

518-828-3344

(Fax)-518-828-9088

Chatham, NY - Sheriff David W. Harrison, Jr. reports that on Tuesday evening, June 27, 2006 at about 11:45pm, Christie Muller reported to Chatham Village Police Officers that her husband had just shot her parents. Columbia County 911 dispatched a Sheriff’s Patrol who responded to the scene at #60 Upper Cady Road in the Town of Chatham, assisted by an Environmental Police patrol and a State Police patrol. Upon arriving, they found one adult male and one adult female deceased inside the residence from apparent gunshot wounds.

Further investigation revealed that Christie Muller and her husband had separated recently and that she and their two year old son were staying with her parents. Her husband, William Muller, went to the residence and after gaining entry, shot and killed Dennis Lynch (56 years of age) and Carolyn Lynch (54 years of age). Christie Muller and her child were at the residence when the murders occurred. She was able to leave the residence with her child and drive to the Village of Chatham for help.

The Sheriff’s Office immediately put out an All-Points-Bulletin for William H. Muller - 39 years of age of Bristol Road, Canaan, NY. At one point while Sheriff’s patrols and State Police patrols checked local locations, a Sheriff’s Investigator spoke to Muller by cell phone in an attempt to have him surrender. Muller ultimately surrendered to the Mechanicville Police Department in Saratoga County at about 03:57AM. He was taken into custody by members of the Sheriff’s Office in Mechanicville at 08:13AM and brought back to Columbia County where he is being charged with 2 Counts of Murder.

Crime Scene Technicians from the Sheriff’s Office along with investigators from the State Police Forensic Identification Unit are processing the homicide scene for evidence.

Sheriff’s Investigators working with the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office continue the investigation in both Columbia and Saratoga Counties. An autopsy of the victims will be conducted later today at St. Peter’s hospital in Albany.

Responding to the scene initially were Sgt. Michael Merante, Deputy Sheriffs Chad Shufelt, Heath Benansky, Patrick Logue and Kim Merante, Environmental Police Officer Jeff Cox, State Police Zone Sgt Leonard White, Chatham Rescue Squad and East Chatham Fire Company EMS 1st Responders and Fire Police.

Also responding to the scene were Coroner Angelo Nero, Sheriff David Harrison, Jr., Undersheriff James Sweet, District Attorney Beth Cozzolino, Chief ADA Michael Cozzolino, Captain David Bartlett, Sr/Investigator William Foster and Investigator Kevin Skype.

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MAN ARRESTED FOR CHATHAM MURDERS

Indenews.com

By: DIANE VALDEN

06/28/2006

CHATHAM-Blasts from a 12-gauge shotgun killed Dennis and Carolyn Lynch in their 60 Upper Cady Road home the night of June 27.

Their son-in-law, William H. Muller, Jr., 39, of Bristol Road in Canaan, a former police officer, is charged with the murders and is being held in the Columbia County Jail without bail.

The Lynches' daughter, Christie Muller, had recently separated from her husband and, along with their two-year-old son, was staying with her parents, Sheriff David W. Harrison, Jr., said at a press conference at his office with District Attorney Beth Cozzolino, June 28.

Mr. Muller, who has domestic violence-related charges pending against him in Canaan Town Court, "gained entry" to the Lynch residence where he allegedly shot and killed Mr. Lynch, 56, and Mrs. Lynch, 54.

Mrs. Muller and her child were in the house at the time of the shootings. They were "able to leave" and Mrs. Muller drove about four miles to the Tracy Memorial Hall in the Village of Chatham to report the matter to police, whom she found standing on the steps of the police station at 11:45 p.m.

A Columbia County 911 dispatcher called in a Sheriff's deputy to respond to the crime scene along with an environmental conservation officer and a state trooper.

An all-points-bulletin was put out on Mr. Muller. Patrols checked local locations looking for Mr. Muller and at one point a Sheriff's Office investigator even spoke to him via cell phone, attempting to get him to turn himself in.

At 3:57 a.m. on June 28, Mr. Muller surrendered at the Mechanicville Police Department in Saratoga County, via a relative who is a Mechanicville cop.

Columbia County Sheriff's Office personnel took him into custody at 8:13 a.m. that morning.

Mr. Muller appeared for arraignment in Chatham Town Court before Justice Jason Shaw around 1 p.m. June 28.

Shackled at the ankles and wrists, wearing jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers, Mr. Muller sat hunched over, his eyes appeared red and he could sometimes be heard sniffling.

He met with his attorney, John Mullady, of Valatie, for about three minutes before the proceeding began.

Asked by the judge if he was Mr. Muller's lawyer, Mr. Mullady said, "I am for today."

After some confusion about the order in which the matter should proceed, Mr. Mullady entered pleas of not guilty on his client's behalf on two counts of felony second degree murder.

No bail was set.

Mr. Mullady then requested that his client be placed under a suicide watch and applied for a mental competency exam.

When Justice Shaw said he would need some basis on which to make that determination, Mr. Mullady said when he met with his client, "he was not fully aware of what was going on" and seemed "disassociated... in a layman's sense. We were not following each other in any meaningful way" and were not able to connect in "an attorney/client relationship."

Mr. Mullady subsequently told reporters outside the courtroom that his client was "not plugged in... not there."

The judge ordered the exam and set a return court date of August 9.

A teary-eyed woman, who sat in the courtroom with a young girl during the arraignment and identified herself only as Mr. Muller's cousin said of the defendant, "this is not him, this is not who he is."

On April 15, State Police charged Mr. Muller with second degree aggravated harassment, endangering the welfare of a child and being a mentally ill person in connection with a domestic dispute during which he allegedly threatened to hurt himself, according to State Police Senior Investigator Gary Mazzacano.

An Order of Protection was issued by a local court and as a result Mr. Muller's weapons and ammunition were seized by State Police-including 2 handguns, 11 rifles, a billy club and a significant amount of ammunition, said Sr. Inv. Mazzacano.

Asked how police determine if they have all of a defendant's weapons, Sr. Inv. Mazzacano said, "You don't know. You have to go through what's there."

Mr. Muller did have a pistol permit and from August 1, 2002, to May 24, 2005, was a part-time deputy with the Iredell County Sheriff's Department in Mooresville, N. C.

"He filled in when we were short," according to Lieutenant Marty Byers, who had been with the Sheriff's department for 17 years.

When his department was notified of the alleged domestic violence involving Mr. Muller in April, "his certification as a reserve officer was terminated," said the lieutenant.

Mr. Muller also had been employed as an officer with the Mooresville Police, but left that job to help run the family business-an auto body shop, said Lt. Byers. Lt. Byers added that Mr. Muller resigned his position with the Sheriff's department in the spring of last year because he was moving "up north."

The news of Mr. Muller's alleged involvement in a double homicide "came as a shock to all of us," he said.

Reporting on the results of autopsies done at St. Peter's Hospital Wednesday, Coroner Angelo Nero said Mr. Lynch died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. Mrs. Lynch died of a single gunshot wound to the neck. For both, "death was instantaneous," said the coroner.

Though the murder weapon in the case has not been recovered, the coroner said a 12-gauge shotgun was used to inflict both of the wounds.

Though the investigation and reconstruction of the crime scene is ongoing, Mr. Nero said Mr. Lynch's body was found in the first floor living room and Mrs. Lynch was found on the stairway.

It is believed that the Lynches had gone to bed, but that Mr. Lynch had gone downstairs to check on something, perhaps noise of some kind.

Mrs. Lynch was shot as she descended the stairs of the two-story house.

Earlier on June 27, the day of the murders, Mrs. Muller had made application to the Columbia County Court for a full Order of Protection. The provisions of the document included "a full stay away order and a surrender of firearms provision," according to John H. Clark, the confidential law clerk to County Court Judge Jonathan Nichols. Though the judge was out of town at a continuing education conference, the order was faxed to him, the judge reviewed, signed it and faxed it back.

The county court issued Order of Protection was characterized "as more restrictive" than the earlier town-issued order, according to Mr. Clark.

In a press release from the Chatham Central School District, Superintendent of Schools Scott Hunter said the Board of Education, administration and school staff "are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of employee Carolyn Lynch and her husband Dennis."

The superintendent described Mrs. Lynch as "a lovely person who gave exemplary service to the district for some 18 years" as secretary in the pupil services office.

"In addition to her secretarial duties, she volunteered her time to work in the Mary E. Dardess Elementary School's butterfly garden and cared for many of the Arbor Day flowers planted over the years by elementary students. She will be sorely missed by our school family and by the Chatham community."

District flags will fly at half-staff from June 28 through July 4 in honor of Mrs. Lynch.

Former Chatham School District Superintendent and current interim superintendent at the Hudson City School District Marilyn Barry, said of Mrs. Lynch, "She was just a lovely woman. A smart, caring, dedicated and competent lady. It's so hard to believe."

Robert Loyche, a Lynch family friend of 30 years, who lives "just around the corner from the couple," said his two daughters and the Lynches' two daughters, Nicole and Christie, grew up together.

He recalled that the girls took tap dancing classes together and had many sleepovers at both the Lynches and the Loyches. "I remember the first thing Dennis said he was going to do after he retired was put a new roof on his mother's house," he said.He helped extensively with the house his daughter and son-in-law built on Bristol Road in Canaan. "He was a giving person, very low key," said Mr. Loyche.

Mr. Lynch retired within the last year as a heating, ventilation and air conditioning technician, who repaired HVAC units for the State of New York.

"I can't say enough about him, he was an outstanding guy," a Navy veteran, who was able to retire at 55 because his time in the military was applied to his years on the job, said Mr. Loyche.

Mr. Loyche said he and his wife walked their dogs by the Lynches house around 8 p.m. the night of the murders. When he passed the house he thought about how he had not seen them in a while.

The next morning he received a call from his niece telling him about what had happened. "It was very disconcerting, very upsetting," he said.

Mr. Loyche said he knew that Mr. Muller had "emotional issues or medication problems."

Funeral arrangements are with the W.J. Lyons, Jr., Funeral Home in Rensselaer.

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POLICE CONNECT KILLINGS TO CLASH: Columbia County parents of estranged wife slain as husband held in homicides

at rural home

The Times Union, (Albany, NY)

June 29, 2006

JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST

CHATHAM - A former sheriff's deputy from North Carolina was charged Wednesday with shooting the parents of his estranged wife to death while the woman and their infant son were in the house.

The accused killer, William H. Muller, 39, was already facing domestic violence charges in neighboring Canaan after allegedly threatening his wife. Authorities said he should not have had a gun.

After allegedly killing Dennis Lynch, 56, and his 54-year-old wife, Carolyn, police say Muller drove 50 miles to Stillwater. There, he knocked on the door of his cousin, a Mechanicville police officer, who persuaded him to surrender.

Muller's wife, Christie, and 2-year-old son were not harmed.

Muller spent nearly three years as a part-time deputy sheriff in Iredell County, N.C., where he used to live, a lieutenant there said.

Fourteen hours after the couple was slain in their Upper Cady Road home, Muller shuffled into Chatham Town Court to face two charges of second-degree murder. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

Looking gaunt, sullen and removed, Muller stared at his cuffed hands in his lap while his attorney petitioned Judge Jason Shaw to order a psychiatric evaluation.

"When I met (with) him, he was not fully aware of what it was we were talking about," the attorney, John Mullady, told the judge, recounting a conversation he had with Muller, whom he later described as "not quite plugged in."

Muller was ordered held without bail at the Columbia County jail while investigators probed what they say drove him to murder. Chief among those questions police say is where Muller got the gun and why he targeted his in-laws.

As of Wednesday morning, the murder weapon had not been recovered, said Sheriff David W. Harrison Jr. Divers searched a marshy area in front of the Lynch home, which sits on a narrow, winding road just south of Exit B2 of the Berkshire spur of the Thruway.

The road is about three miles north of downtown Chatham, a vibrant village popular with New York City transplants seeking country life. It features quilting boutiques and upscale bakeries on its main street.

Many of the homes on Upper Cady Road are large and set back far off the road by steep driveways, separated from each other and the road by thick woods.

After a domestic violence incident with his wife this spring, a judge issued a restraining order requiring Muller to stay away from her and surrender any guns, District Attorney Beth G. Cozzolino said.

The exact charge against Muller in that case, which was handled by the State Police, was not immediately available Wednesday. Cozzolino said the case is still pending.

Muller, who lives at 70 Bristol Road in Canaan, had appeared in court on it as recently as last week.

Authorities said his wife and son had been living with her parents since.

As of Wednesday morning, authorities said the motive of the killings remained a mystery.

"This is not him. This is just not him," a tearful woman, who identified herself only as Muller's cousin, said outside court. She said Muller had been distraught about his failing marriage and worried about losing contact with his son.

"It shouldn't have been anyone," she said, "but why her parents?"

Meanwhile, family remembered Dennis and Carolyn Lynch as a loving couple who this month celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary. Their romance began in Nassau where they both grew up and continued through Columbia High School - even surviving Dennis' stint in the Navy as a boiler technician on several destroyers.

"She waited for him to get out," said Darlene Meppen, Carolyn's younger sister.

She was an avid gardener, quilter and fastidious cleaner who worked as a secretary in the Chatham Central School District for many years. She had visited the retirement board this week, her sister said. He loved to fish and hunt and parlayed his skills from the Navy into a 25-year job as engineer with the state Department of Health, retiring last June.

A devoted New York Yankees fan, Dennis Lynch had planned to take his daughter and grandson to the Yankees game Wednesday, Meppen said.

Together, they enjoyed the Irish music of The McKrells, yearly trips to Old Forge and had moved from the trailer park down the street to their dream home, which family helped them build.

"He was a friend to everybody, and so was she," Meppen said. Authorities declined to say how Christie Muller and her son escaped and whether they actually witnessed the murders - saying only that she fled to downtown Chatham, where she knew there would be police officers.

In the hours after the murder, investigators were able to reach Muller on his cellphone, but the sheriff declined to say how many times they spoke or what he said.

Early Wednesday morning, he arrived on the doorstep of his cousin, the Mechanicville cop.

"He just felt comfortable," said Joe Waldron, the chief of police there. "He knew he had done something tragic and he knew he was going to get caught."

The name of the officer was not released. Muller surrendered to Mechanicville police just before 4 a.m. and was later returned to Columbia County.

"Ultimately," Harrison, the sheriff, said, "the Lynches paid the ultimate price for a domestic violence incident."

Late Wednesday, sheriff's deputies vehicles were still parked in front of Muller's new log-cabin-style home in Canaan. A home he shared with his wife and child before things began to unravel. A home that Dennis Lynch helped him build.

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DA RESTS IN DOUBLE MURDER CASE

Indenews.com

By: DIANE VALDEN

04/13/2007

HUDSON -The judge in the murder trial of William H. Muller, Jr. criticized the defense attorney as conducting "defense by ambush" for introducing at the last minute a ballistics expert. But Judge Jonathan Nichols gave District Attorney Beth Cozzolino only a day to enlist the services of her own expert to refute testimony anticipated by the defense witness, who was scheduled to take the stand Friday, April 13.

Before the prosecutor rested her case Thursday morning, jurors heard from a man who said Mr. Muller had asked him to kill his wife, Christie Lynch Muller, to prevent her from testifying against him. And, as the defense began, the jury also heard from Mr. Muller's sister, who challenged some of the details Mrs. Muller gave when she described the crimes her husband is accused of committing.

Mr. Muller, 40, is charged with two counts of first degree murder. He allegedly used a 12-gauge shotgun to kill his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Dennis Lynch, 56, and Carolyn Lynch, 54, in their 60 Upper Cady Road home in Chatham, the night of June 27, 2006.

Thursday morning, after learning that defense attorney Marco Caviglia planned to call ballistics expert Charles Haase, Ms. Cozzolino asked Judge Nichols to preclude his testimony because Mr. Caviglia had failed to turn over notes or reports generated by the witness until just before he was to take the stand.

Mr. Caviglia said that he turned over the material as soon as he got it, but under questioning by Judge Nichols, Mr. Haase said he had written the notes over the course of a month. The judge said he would allow the testimony, but he agreed to let Ms. Cozzolino's rebuttal witness, assuming she finds one, sit in court while Mr. Haase testifies.

Taking the stand first for the defense on Thursday was Jennifer Lyn Day, 33, of Mooresville, N.C. Ms. Day is Mr. Muller's sister. She is a registered nurse, specializing in labor and delivery. Ms. Day said she is a longtime friend of Christie Lynch Muller, Mr. Muller's wife, and has spoken to her by telephone on numerous occasions since her parents were killed.

Ms. Day testified that when she spoke to Ms. Muller about the night of the shootings, Ms. Muller told her a different story than the one she presented on the stand April 5. She said Mrs. Muller at one point held a gun and that she nearly ran over her husband as she left her parents' home after the shootings.

Ms. Day said Mrs. Muller described her husband's movements as "robotic" and that he was "pale, glassy-eyed and spoke in a monotone."

On cross-examination, Ms. Day continually denied ever having discussed her brother's case with him, though she spoke to Mr. Muller by phone once or twice a week.

Ms. Cozzolino then confronted Ms. Day with transcripts that showed her trying to persuade Ms. Muller not to testify at the direction of her brother. The DA also accused Ms. Day of reading letters to Mrs. Muller she received from Mr. Muller despite a court order that the two could have no contact.

Before the prosecution rested, seven witnesses took the stand the previous day, Wednesday, April 11. Of particular interest was the testimony of John Michael LeClaire and Peter J. Rupp.

Mr. LeClaire lives in Stillwater, Saratoga County, with his wife and two children. He has been a fulltime patrolman with the Mechanicville Police Department for more than 15 years and is Mr. Muller's cousin.

Mr. LeClaire said at around 2 a.m. June 28, 2006, he awoke to a knock on his front door. It was his cousin, Mr. Muller. The two men spoke in Mr. LeClaire's garage. Mr. Muller had driven to his cousin's house in his black Dodge pickup truck, the same truck he used to block the driveway at the Lynch residence the night of the murders.

Under cross-examination, Mr. LeClaire testified that Mr. Muller told him he had come to see him because "something had happened in Columbia County." Mr. Muller said he and Mr. Lynch wrestled and the gun went off, said Mr. LeClaire.

Defense Attorney Caviglia asked Mr. LeClaire to describe his cousin's demeanor. "He was calm, working himself up a little bit and extremely tired," said Mr. LeClaire.

At some point, Mr. LeClaire said he received a call from his sergeant at the Mechanicville Police Department notifying him that Columbia County authorities wanted to speak to Mr. Muller. After Mr. Muller's attorney called him back, Mr. LeClaire drove his cousin to a car dealership to confer with the attorney, then all three men went to Mechanicville Police Department.

Later Wednesday afternoon, Peter J. Rupp of Watervliet, an unemployed computer technician, told the court that Mr. Muller tried to hire him to murder his wife, Christie.

Mr. Rupp, who has at least five public lewdness convictions on his record, along with convictions of aggravated harassment, endangering the welfare of a child, attempted criminal trespass and attempted coercion, met Mr. Muller when they were dorm-mates for a few months at the Columbia County Jail following the June 27, 2006 murders of the Lynches.

Mr. Rupp said Mr. Muller offered to pay him $10,000 up front to kill his wife and $10,000 after the deed was done. Mr. Muller knew that Mr. Rupp was a former marine, an expert marksman and that he was broke, said Mr. Rupp.

Mr. Muller told Mr. Rupp that he wanted his wife killed because "dead women don't testify," said Mr. Rupp.

On cross-examination, Mr. Caviglia quizzed Mr. Rupp about all of his convictions and asked why Mr. Rupp had waited so long to tell the district attorney about the plot, suggesting that Mr. Rupp was hoping to get an early release from jail, though that did not prove to be the case.

Mr. Rupp insisted that after his friendship with Mr. Muller ended, he began to think that Mr. Muller might try to get someone else to do the job. He said if Christie Lynch Muller were killed it would be on his conscience.

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JURY: MAN MURDERED IN-LAWS: William H. Muller's wife and son listened as he shot her parents

The Times Union,

April 18, 2007

ANNE MILLER

HUDSON - A jury late Tuesday convicted William H. Muller of two counts of first-degree murder for killing his in-laws while their daughter - his wife - clutched the couple's toddler and listened to her parents die.

Columbia County District Attorney Beth Cozzolino described the testimony of Muller's wife, Christie, which Cozzolino called key to the case in the murder of Dennis Lynch, 56, and his wife Carolyn, 54.

The couple died in June in their home on Upper Cady Road. Christie Muller had left her husband and moved in with her parents that April, Cozzolino said. "She saw him come in with the gun," Cozzolino said, summarizing the woman's testimony about her husband.

"She calls for her dad, he comes downstairs and is shot. After the two shots she peeks out of her bedroom door, hears her mother plead for her life, closes the door and hears another shot," the district attorney said.

"He comes into the bedroom where she's huddled with the 2-year-old and says, `you're next.' "

Cozzolino said the boy clung to his mother's neck, so William Muller did not have a clean shot at his wife. She promised to return home with him and not call police, Cozzolino said. Her husband let her get in her car, figuring he had blocked the driveway with his truck, but Christie Muller drove around his vehicle and escaped, Cozzolino said.

Muller, 40, drove to his cousin's house in Stillwater and agreed to surrender. The cousin is a Mechanicville police officer.

Muller, a former deputy sheriff in Iredell County, N.C., faces up to two consecutive life terms in prison, Cozzolino said.

Muller's attorney could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Cozzolino said the jury needed about four hours to return the guilty verdict at the Columbia County courthouse in Hudson. The trial began April 2. Muller is due back in court June 19 for sentencing.

Anne Miller can be reached at 454-5697 or by e-mail at amiller@timesunion.com.

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MAN GETS LIFE SENTENCES FOR KILLING HIS IN-LAWS: Estranged husband killed couple because he was angry wife had left him

The Times Union, (Albany, NY)

JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST

June 21, 2007

HUDSON - A former part-time sheriff's deputy from North Carolina who fatally shot his in-laws while his estranged wife and child were within earshot will spend the rest of his life in prison.

William H. Muller, convicted in April of two counts of first-degree murder for killing Dennis and Carolyn Lynch in their Upper Cady Road home, was sentenced Tuesday in Columbia County Court to two terms of life in prison with no possibility of parole, First Assistant District Attorney Michael Cozzolino said.

In addition to the prison terms, to run concurrently, County Judge Jonathan D. Nichols ordered Muller, 40, formerly of Bristol Road in Canaan, to pay a $5,000 fine, Cozzolino said.

The Lynches were slain in their East Chatham home last June 26, not long after celebrating their thirty-third wedding anniversary.

Muller, who was married to the couple's daughter, Christie, was already facing domestic violence charges in neighboring Canaan at the time of the shotgun slaying.

District Attorney Beth G. Cozzolino said testimony at trial suggested Muller murdered the couple because he was furious that their daughter had left him. She huddled in the house with their 2-year-old son while he shot her parents.

"He said to her, `You hurt me, now I want to hurt you as much as you hurt me,'" the district attorney said.

Muller also threatened to kill his wife and intended, authorities suspect, to abduct their son but hesitated because the boy was awake and clinging to his mother.

She was able to escape unharmed with the boy and notify police.

After the killings, Muller drove 50 miles to Stillwater, where he knocked on the door of his cousin, a Mechanicville police officer, who persuaded him to surrender.

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