A dispute between two jurors and request by the jury for the court reporter to read back 190 pages of testimony slowed deliberations in the trial of Edward Holley, who is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Megan McDonald in 2003.

Since the notes to the judge about the dispute and the read-back request came early Monday morning, the jury of six men and six women spent most of their time in the courtroom, not in the jury room, on the first full day of deliberations at the Orange County Courthouse in Goshen.

The court addressed the read-back request first, since that note came first.

The court reporter finished most of the read-back on Monday of retired state police investigator John Ramos, who was the lead investigator for the first year following McDonald's murder in March 2003.

Both the prosecution and defense asked Ramos in detail about how the crime scene was processed, how certain pieces of evidence were handled, and how he went about ruling out several of McDonald's acquaintances as suspects early on.

Prosecutors have said McDonald was in the driver's seat of her car when Holley attacked her from the back seat, possibly armed with a hammer. They have also said the brutal beating may have continued outside the car and involved someone else, though no one else has ever been charged in connection with McDonald's death.

McDonald's body was found four days later near a dumpster off of Bowser Road in the Town of Wallkill. She was bloodied and her face was caved in, according to officials.

Holley was arrested in March 2023 and charged with murder. He has since remained in the Orange County Jail.

His March 2025 murder trial ended in a mistrial when jurors were deadlocked with no hopes of a resolution.

Monday's testimony read-back was stopped close to 5 p.m. when jurors were dismissed for the day.

The court ran out of time on Monday to address the juror dispute. The note about the juror dispute came at 11:20 a.m.

The foreperson wrote to Judge Hyun Chin Kim stating that one juror was angry with another juror, saying he was speculating and that she wanted him to leave the jury.

The foreperson asked the judge in the note, "Can he continue?"

Attorneys on both sides suggested Judge Kim re-read the deliberation instructions for the jury.

Judge Kim also suggested bringing the foreman into the courtroom to expand on the dispute with the hopes of resolving it.

The read-back of Ramos's testimony will resume on Tuesday morning, likely to be followed by the deliberation instructions.