Neversink Man Guilty of Murder in Father’s Shooting Death

Monticello, NY — A Sullivan County jury on Monday found Drew Botsford, 48, of Neversink, guilty of Murder in the Second Degree in the October 2023 shooting death of his father, District Attorney Brian P. Conaty announced.

The verdict, returned after a five-day trial in Sullivan County Court, found Botsford guilty of a Class A-I felony in the death of Lloyd Botsford, 71.

Prosecutors established that on Oct. 8, 2023, at approximately 6 p.m., Drew Botsford argued with his father at their residence on Bradley Road in the Town of Neversink. Following the argument, he retrieved a .22 caliber rifle from his father’s bedroom closet, loaded a single round and fired one shot that struck Lloyd Botsford in the skull as the older man sat on a love seat watching football.

Family members found Lloyd Botsford on the couch and called emergency services, but life-saving efforts were unsuccessful.

After the shooting, Drew Botsford fled with approximately $1,668 in cash. He attempted to obtain a vehicle from a relative but was refused and hid in the back of his aunt’s vehicle, where he inadvertently locked himself inside overnight. The following morning, he used a tire jack to break through the vehicle’s rear hatch window and entered his aunt’s home, where New York State Police took him into custody.

Botsford later admitted to investigators that he had argued with his father before shooting him.

A search warrant executed at the scene yielded a .22 caliber shell casing in a location consistent with Botsford’s account of where he stood when he fired. The rifle was recovered in Lloyd Botsford’s bedroom. DNA analysis by the New York State Police Crime Laboratory identified Drew Botsford’s DNA on multiple areas of the firearm — including the forearm, stock, bolt and trigger — consistent with having held the weapon in a shooting position. Lloyd Botsford’s DNA was excluded from those areas.

“Lloyd Botsford was a loving husband, loving father, and a friend to many people across Sullivan County,” Conaty said in a statement. “Lloyd Botsford did not deserve this ending to his life, a life that was dedicated to his family and this community.”

Conaty pledged that his office would seek a sentence “commensurate with the defendant’s deeds and the callousness showed to a man who showed nothing but love to the defendant, his family, and this community.”

The case was prosecuted by Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael J. Puma. Drew Botsford was represented by Tim Havas, executive director of the Sullivan County Legal Aid Society. Sullivan County Court Judge James R. Farrell presided.

Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

Image: Sullivan County Courthouse in Monticello, NY. (American Courthouses/John Deacon)