Here are some stories making headlines across the Hudson Valley.
Ulster County police are trying to find
out what led to the death of a woman found in the woods. Investigators say a
passerby saw a person laying in a wooded area off Route 28 in the Town of Olive
Tuesday morning. When police officers arrived, they found a woman dead on the
ground. Detectives are calling it an "unattended death," and say it is
not suspicious. The woman's identity is being withheld until the family is
notified. The Ulster County Sheriff's Office says even though parents at Onteora
School District got a notification, the victim was not located on school
property and there is no safety threat.
Three employees at Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital were exposed
to a chemical irritant Tuesday morning. A hospital spokesperson says it
happened on the third floor. They were sent to the emergency department for
evaluation as a precaution. No patients or other staff members were exposed.
The New Rochelle Fire Department responded, and the hospital remained
operational.
A Dutchess County man accused of murdering
his ex-girlfriend's daughter has now been found fit to stand trial. Paul
Senecal, 38, was found competent Monday after several psychiatric evaluations,
according to prosecutors. Senecal is charged with fatally stabbing 29-year-old
Melanie Chianese in May at the home she shared with her mother and young son in
Wappinger. The Dutchess County District Attorney's Office says the case is now
moving toward trial. Senecal is due back in court Jan. 23.