FROM: HOLLEY CARNRIGHT
DATE: OCTOBER 13, 2016
RE: PRESS RELEASE – PEOPLE V. NICHOLAS PASCARELLA, JR.
On October 11th, 2016, after deliberating for just over two hours, an Ulster County Jury found Nicholas Pascarella, Jr. guilty of Murder in the 2nd Degree.
Nicholas Pascarella, Jr. was charged by indictment with Murder in the Second Degree for killing his father with a baseball bat on December 27th, 2014, outside the victim’s residence. During the trial, the defense argued that the defendant committed the homicide while under the influence of an extreme emotional disturbance, thereby committing the lesser crime of Manslaughter in the First Degree.
However, the prosecution countered by offering proof to establish that the murder was premeditated. Proof included recorded jail calls between the defendant and his wife during which he discussed the planning of the murder.
The case was prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael Kavanagh and the defendant was represented by MariAnn Connolly. Pascarella is scheduled to be sentenced by the Hon. Donald A. Williams on December 16th, 2016, at which time he will face a sentence of anywhere from 15 to life to 25 to life in state prison.