Top Stories 2012: Woman Charged In North Salem Slaying

NORTH SALEM, N.Y. – As 2012 draws to a close, The North Salem Daily Voice is recapping some of the biggest stories of the past year.

Jessica Ryan French was arrested in March and charged with the murder of Epifanio Medina, whose body was found in North Salem's Gaymark Preserve.
Photo Credit: *Courtesy of Palm Beach Sheriff's Office*

by Katherine Pacchiana

12/27/2012 2:00 a.m.

One chapter in the case of a body discovered in North Salem’s Gaymark Preserve in June of 2011 was closed March 2012 when police arrested Jessica Ryan French, of Lehigh Acres, Fla. French was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree robbery and unlawful imprisonment, all felonies.

The body was identified as Epifanio Medina, 65, a resident of Passaic, N.J., who had been reported missing two weeks before the discovery.

French was alleged to have had two accomplices from New Hampshire and one from Florida, who were all indicted on similar charges. The case has not yet come to trial.

Medina was known to carry large amounts of money, and robbery was believed to be the motive for his slaying.

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