Background: The Delaware County courthouse in Delhi, N.Y. where Drew Garnier was sentenced (Google Maps). Inset (left): Drew Garnier (Delaware County District Attorney’s Office). Inset (right): Samantha Garnier (GoFundMe).
The father of a New York woman who was murdered by her husband when she was five months pregnant told the court that the defendant committed the crime because he “wanted a boy.”
Drew Garnier, 33, pleaded guilty in March to the murder of his wife, 29-year-old Samantha Garnier, who was pregnant with the couple’s third daughter when he stabbed her to death on Sept. 4, 2024. Drew Garnier also stabbed his two young daughters, who were 6 and 9 years old at the time, and pleaded guilty to two charges of assault.
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As previously reported by Law&Crime, New York State Police responded to a “domestic dispute” at the couple’s home in Masonville, New York, two days after Labor Day. Drew Garnier surrendered to police at the scene and was treated for superficial wounds. Samantha Garnier was airlifted to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The two little girls were treated for stab wounds and eventually recovered.
In court on Thursday for Drew Garnier’s sentencing, the father of Samantha Garnier addressed a possible motive for the murder of his daughter while reading his victim impact statement, local CBS affiliate WBMG reported. He believed that Drew Garnier was angry about the gender of the unborn child, telling the court, “He had wanted a boy.”
He went on to say that the couple’s young daughters were traumatized by the horrific crime against their mother and added, “I am their father now. I will protect them.”
Drew Garnier requested the ability to contact the daughters he admitted to stabbing while he served his sentence. Delaware County District Attorney Shawn Smith objected and asked for no-contact orders for as long as the law allowed. Judge John Hubbard agreed, but stated that the girls could ultimately choose to contact their father if they wished.
Judge Hubbard issued complete stay-away orders for both of the girls until the year 2056. Drew Garnier reportedly refused to sign them. According to courtroom reporting by Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin, the judge told Drew Garnier, “You took a life and injured your children. They had a right to expect protection from you.”
Per the terms of his plea agreement, Drew Garnier was sentenced to 30 years in prison plus 15 years’ probation upon release.
