The 2016 Vails Gate Case: Orange County Man Finally Sentenced
On early Monday, March 28, the resident of New Windsor, Andrew Goodenough, 41, was sentenced for the unprovoked attack in ShopRite six years ago. The man from Orange County pleaded guilty for causing the death of Michael Kohus, 35, on June 11, 2016. The victim was a resident of Highland Falls, located less than 14 miles southeast of Newburgh. According to witnesses, there were no motives for the attack.
In February 2022, the defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Orange County court. A month later, the case was finally closed after six years of forensic psychiatric assessment, competency proceedings, and legal tricks by Goodenough’s lawyers. Due to mental-health diagnoses from the past, the defense initially planned to plead insanity. It all ends with a sentence of 20 years to life in prison.
The Case Gets in Court
Police and investigators did not find any connection or past interaction between Goodenough and Kohus. Moreover, even the defendant admitted that the victim did not pose a threat at the time of the attack and did not show aggression in a verbal or physical way. The District Attorney David M. Hoovler said, “The community is far safer while he is in prison!”. At first sight, the case was transparent, and Goodenough did not resist his arrest. However, his medical record contains several diagnoses of psychological illness over the years, including schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder.
The Legal Aid Society of Orange County, which represented the defendant, had no choice but to try and build a defense on its mental illness. This approach and the seriousness of the charges eventually cost the public six years in clarifying competence and new forensic psychiatric assessments. Andrew Goodenough received three charges:
- – First-Degree Manslaughter
- – Second-Degree Murder
- – Illegal Drugs Abuse
For almost a year, the only issue was if Goodenough was mentally stable and could work properly with the appointed lawyer, Donalda Gillies. He was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder by New Hampton’s Mid Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center in December 2016.
The Honorable Craig Stephen Brown serving for the Orange County Court was appointed a judge for Goodenough’s case. In 2016, he was also serving for the Orange County Supreme Court as an Acting Justice. Early in his career, Judge Craig S. Brown was also an assistant district attorney for the Queens County DA Office. He was assigned to a couple of divisions during his four years of tenure – Homicide Investigations Division and Special Victims Unit. He has a 1993 B.A. and a 1996 J.D. from the Old Dominion University and the State University of NY at Buffalo Low School. Judge Brown was an excellent choice for such a tough case!
The Six Years Trial
After the testimonials of Mid Hudson’s psychiatrist and psychologist that Goodenough had stabilized and now understands the charges, the case finally entered court. They also testified that the progress was achieved without the need for medications. At that point, it was reported that the suspect showed “no signs of psychosis or delusions”. This was enough for Andrew Goodenough to be sent to trial after the failed attempt of the prosecutors to neutralize the insanity defense.
As the Times Herald-Record reporter Michael P. McKinney noted, they maintained the version that the suspect was mentally sane enough at the time of the act against Michael Kohus. Their thesis was that Goodenough was able to appreciate the principles of right and wrong but was under the influence of illegal drugs. The point is that if he was capable of buying and using street-offered opiates or narcotic substances, therefore, he can’t invoke insanity. Even if the drugs triggered his illness, that could not be used as a defense because the act of taking the above-mentioned substances was completely voluntary.
Controversies and similar thesis have been among the main reasons for delaying the case for almost six years. Of course, the Constitution of the United States allows adult men and women to be protected in such cases due to mental disorders. Exactly because of that, cases like Goodenough’s may take an eternity, especially if the suspects have long lists with mental-health diagnoses. The real question here is why these people don’t get proper treatment and medical help. Andrew Goodenough is guilty and will serve his sentence, but this doesn’t change the fact that a 35-year member of the Orange County community lost its life for no reason.
The Court’s Sentence
On Monday, March 28, the Orange County court ruled in the Andrew Goodenough case and sentenced him to spend behind bars, 20 years to life. The victim’s family was not present to hear the sentencing as they were too upset, the prosecutors said. The convict must serve his sentence in state prison, but no further information has been released so far. Surely the people of Orange County will be partially relieved by the outcome, but the bitterness remains.
We join District Attorney David M. Hoovler in our condolences to the family and friends of Michael Kohus. In the end, justice prevails, though not in the way everyone expected in the beginning. Of course, we need to consider the gravity of the second-degree murder charges. The need for indisputable evidence is in itself a difficult and lengthy procedure. Hopefully, we won’t witness similar cases any time soon!