Jeremiah Raub has been found guilty of murder and arson in connection with the 2011 Binghamton fire that killed 17-year-old Jeffrey Aissa.
A jury delivered the verdict at about 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 20 in Broome County Court after deliberations began at about 2 p.m. on Aug. 19.
Raub, who was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of arson, was found guilty on all counts following a week-long jury trial that detailed the events of the nearly 15-year-old cold case.
Members of both the Aissa and Raub families were in court Wednesday to hear the verdict. This decision comes about six months after the first trial in the case which, after 20 hours of jury deliberations, ended in a mistrial.
On March 17, 2011, Aissa was killed in a fire that burned down the family’s residence at 20 Milford St. on the East Side of Binghamton. After an initial investigation ruled that the fire was arson, the case went cold until 2017 when police got word that Raub had confessed his guilt in 2011 to his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Manderville, a witness who testified during the trial.
Raub was first charged in March 2023 after he was approached by Binghamton Police Department investigators and agreed to speak with them for over five hours in recorded interviews that were shown to the jury.
During that initial interrogation, Raub admitted to lighting a fire somewhere on the East Side of Binghamton in 2011. During closing arguments on Aug. 19, Broome County Assistant District Attorney Lucas Finley said Raub remembered “specific details” relating to the house that made it a “common sense” verdict for the jury.
After the verdict was read, Raub was remanded to the custody of the Broome County Sheriff’s Office for processing.
The Broome County District Attorney’s Office will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. to address the verdict.
(This is a developing story. Check back for updates.)
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Raub found guilty of murder, arson in 2011 Binghamton fire that killed Jeffrey Aissa
Reporting by Jillian McCarthy, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
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