District Attorney Hoovler: Cornelius Stubbs Sentenced to Life in Prison

September 21, 2022

District Attorney Hoovler: Cornelius Stubbs Sentenced to Life in Prison

Co-defendant Carlos Rivera Sentenced to Thirty Years to Life in Prison

Newburgh Men Guilty of Murder in the First Degree for Killing of a Woman in New Windsor
Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler announced that on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, Cornelius Stubbs, age 51, of Newburgh, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional twenty-five (25) years to life sentence to run consecutively to the life in prison sentence. Stubbs’s co-defendant in the case, Carlos Rivera, age 49, also of Newburgh, was sentenced to thirty (30) years to life in prison. Stubbs was previously convicted following a jury trial in the Orange County Court of all thirty-one (31) charges against him including Murder in the First Degree. Rivera pled guilty to all ten (10) counts he was facing, including Murder in the First Degree, during the jury selection phase of the trial on May 2, 2022. At the time of sentencing, over forty (40) friends and family members of the victims were present, as well as numerous members of Law Enforcement representing the Town of New Windsor Police Department and the New York State Police.
The charges in the case stem from the September 2019 shooting death of a twenty-one-year-old female college student inside a New Windsor residence. The deceased woman was in the apartment visiting her boyfriend, who is the brother of the mother of one of Stubbs’ children. The indictment also charged Stubbs with a pattern of harassment of that same mother, as well as her family.
At trial, Stubbs was convicted of Murder in the First Degree, two counts of Attempted Murder in the First Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Burglary in the First Degree, Assault in the First Degree, and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, for having broken into the brother’s New Windsor apartment, shooting the brother, and fatally shooting his girlfriend. The brother was seriously injured in the attack.
Rivera pled guilty to Murder in the First Degree, two counts of Attempted Murder in the First Degree, two counts of Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Burglary in the First Degree, Assault in the First Degree, Assault in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, for his role in breaking into the apartment and shooting the girlfriend and brother.
Stubbs was also convicted of ten counts of Criminal Contempt in the First Degree, Coercion in the First Degree, eight counts of Criminal Contempt in the Second Degree, three counts of Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree, and two counts of Harassment in the Second Degree, for having repeatedly threatened and harassed the mother of his child, as well as her brother.
District Attorney Hoovler thanked the Town of New Windsor Police Department and New York State Police for their investigation and the arrest of the defendants, as well the City of Newburgh Police Department, the Town of Newburgh Police Department, and the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis Center who aided in the investigation.
“By their vile, heinous and incorrigible actions, these defendants deserve every single day of the sentences that were imposed,” said District Attorney David Hoovler. “While the hard-fought convictions and sentences will not bring back the victim in this case, I hope that the victims’ families and loved ones will be afforded a measure of closure. This case highlights the destructive and irreversible consequences of domestic violence. My Office will not cease in the pursuit of justice on behalf of victims and survivors in cases such as this one.”

District Attorney Hoovler highly commended Senior Assistant District Attorney David Byrne and Assistant District Attorney Michael Roche who prosecuted the case.

A criminal charge is merely an allegation by the police that a defendant has committed a violation of the criminal law, and it is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the State of New York’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.