Man who killed in-laws in Wappinger sentenced; attorneys say he had 'break with reality'
"There were so many delusions in my mind that night, and I believed them all," Robert Buda said of Jan. 26, 2025, the night of the murders of Jo-Ann and Paul Hait of Wappinger.
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A man who admitted to killing his in-laws in Wappinger more than two years ago was sentenced to prison on Wednesday.
Robert Buda, 36, sobbed as he addressed the court.
"There were so many delusions in my mind that night, and I believed them all," he said of Jan. 26, 2025, the night of the murders of Jo-Ann Hait, 65, and Paul Hait, 63, of Wappinger.
Buda admitted to driving from his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Dutchess County with a loaded pistol, shooting the Haits and their dog, and cutting Paul Hait's throat with a knife. Prosecutors said he then burned the home down, accelerating the fire with gasoline.
Buda's attorneys said he suffers from mental illness and had "a severe break with reality" the night of the murders.
Acknowledging letters from Buda's family and a large group of supporters in the courtroom, Judge Karen Edelman-Reyes imposed the expected sentence of 40 years to life in prison - 20 years for each murder count to run consecutively.
Edelman-Reyes pointed out that Buda admitted to removing shell casings from the scene, bagging his clothes and showering just after the murders.
Jo-Ann Hait's brother, Tom Fresenius, said in his victim impact statement that Jo-Ann and Paul's lives were so full, "but unfinished only due to the grotesque and belligerent actions of Robert Buda."
"There's nothing we can say to make this any better," the prosecutor said just after the sentencing hearing. "Our hearts are with the family."
Exactly why Buda committed the murders — other than to say he had a mental health crisis — is unclear.
The prosecutors noted that, saying the defense "made exceptionally clear no one would know" Buda's motive.
