A jury has found Edward Holley not guilty in the 2003 murder of Megan McDonald, ending a retrial marked by more than a dozen days of deliberations and tense moments inside the Orange County courtroom.

The verdict was delivered Wednesday in a packed courtroom.

News 12’s Blaise Gomez says the room was silent as the jurors were brought in, with attorneys, relatives and supporters on both sides waiting for the decision. The judge reminded everyone to manage their emotions as the foreperson read the verdict: not guilty.

Supporters seated on Holley’s side released audible sighs of relief, while McDonald’s family reacted with visible grief. Her mother wiped her face with tissues as relatives around her remained still and stunned. Holley broke down at the defense table, crying as his attorneys placed their hands on his back and embraced one another.

Prosecutors argued throughout the trial that Holley bludgeoned McDonald with a blunt object while she sat in the driver’s seat of her 1991 Mercury Sable. They said the attack happened inside the vehicle and continued outside. The case was largely circumstantial, relying on a possible DNA link suggesting Holley may have been inside the car at some point. Other DNA in the vehicle belonged to several of McDonald’s friends, and investigators never found a murder weapon.

New York State Police testing did not produce a direct DNA match to Holley. His first trial in spring 2025 ended in a mistrial, with multiple sources telling News 12 that jurors were split 9‑3 in favor of acquittal.