The estranged boyfriend of an NYPD detective’s slain daughter was hit with a murder indictment Monday — more than two decades after the 20-year-old woman’s brutal death.
Edward Holley, 43, of upstate New York, was charged in Megan McDonald’s 2003 killing last year but had been free pending a grand jury presentation by a special prosecutor in the high-profile case — which resulted in an indictment Monday.
“The family of Megan McDonald, who was brutally murdered on March 14, 2003, is gratified and relieved to hear that the grand jury has indicted her killer,” the victim’s family said in a statement through their attorney, John Beatty.
“The family has been waiting for justice for 20 years and is grateful to the hardworking New York State Police and the special prosecutors appointed to present the evidence,” the statement said.
The special prosecutor, Julia Cornachio, announced the indictment, lohud.com reported.
McDonald was the daughter of NYPD Detective Dennis McDonald, who died one year before she disappeared in upstate Wallkill in Orange County.
According to state police, McDonald had been at a party but left her friends to seek out Holley — her estranged boyfriend — to buy marijuana.
Cops later determined that she was killed while sitting in the driver’s seat of her 1991 Mercury Sable, with her body dumped along a dirt path on Bowser Road in Walkill.
Holley, who is now bound to a wheelchair due to a 2007 traffic accident, was an early suspect and was questioned by police at the time of McDonald’s disappearance.
But investigators said they didn’t have enough evidence to link him to the murder until last year.
Holley faces a prison sentence of up to 25 years to life if convicted.
“The indictment of Edward Holley is a significant step towards justice for Megan and her family,” Beatty said in the statement. “The family is hopeful that the judicial process will continue to progress fairly and impartially and that Edward Holley will be held justly accountable for his actions.”
