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NORTH SALEM, N.Y. – Charles Blanchard was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison for his role as an accomplice in the 2011 killing of Epifano Medina.
Medina’s decomposed body was discovered by a pair of horseback riders in North Salem’s Graymark Preserve in June 2011. He was later identified as a 65-year-old resident of Florida and Passaic, N.J.
An investigation by New York State Police linked Jessica Ryan French and Patrick Smith, both Florida residents, and Travis Morin and Charles Blanchard, both New Hampshire residents, to the crime, investigators said. The alleged motive was robbery, since Medina was reputed to wear a lot of jewelry and carry large amounts of cash, investigators said.
Blanchard pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree kidnapping, all class A felonies.
French pleaded guilty in May 2012 and is still awaiting a sentence. Morin and Smith are still awaiting trial.
Assistant District Attorney Nadine Nagler of the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, Career Criminal Bureau, is prosecuting the cases.
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