A Neversink man previously convicted of murdering his father was sentenced May 15 to 25 years to life in state prison.
Sullivan County District Attorney Brian Conaty announced the sentence for Drew Botsford, 49, of Neversink. The sentence was pronounced by Sullivan County Court Judge James R. Farrell.
A five-day jury trial established that Botsford got into an argument with his father, Lloyd Botsford, 71, at approximately 6 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2023, at a residence at 39 Bradley Road in the Town of Neversink.
Immediately after the argument, Drew Botsford grabbed a .22-caliber rifle from his father’s bedroom closet, loaded a .22-caliber round in the chamber and walked down the hallway toward the living room, where his father was sitting on a love seat and watching football.
He squatted down by the bathroom door, aimed and pulled the trigger, firing one shot which hit Lloyd Botsford directly in the head.
Family members found Lloyd Botsford lying on the couch and contacted emergency medical service workers, who responded to the house but were unable to save him.
Drew Botsford was subsequently convicted of second-degree murder, a felony.
“This was a shocking and deeply disturbing act of violence in which a son intentionally took the life of the man who raised him,” Conaty said in a statement released by his office. “No parent should ever have to fear harm at the hands of their own child, and no family should have to endure this kind of unimaginable tragedy.”
Botsford’s attorney, Tim Havas, executive director of the Sullivan County Legal Aid Society, said he is going to appeal the verdict, but he could not comment further.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record and the Poughkeepsie Journal. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Neversink man gets 25 years to life in prison for killing father with rifle
Reporting by Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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