Monticello, NY - On March, 16, 2026, Sullivan County District Attorney Brian P. Conaty announced that a Sullivan County Jury returned a guilty verdict against Drew Botsford, 48, of Neversink, for Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A-I felony.
Botsford’s conviction followed a five-day jury trial during which it was established that on October 8th, 2023, at approximately 6:00 p.m., at 39 Bradley Road, Liberty, in the Town of Neversink, the defendant got into an argument with his father, Lloyd Botsford, 71. Immediately after the argument with his father, the defendant grabbed a .22 rifle from his father’s bedroom closet, loaded one .22 caliber round in the chamber that he had located in his father’s top drawer, walked down the hallway in the residence, squatted down by the bathroom door, aimed and pulled the trigger. The defendant fired one shot striking his father Lloyd Botsford directly in the skull. Lloyd was seated on the love seat in the living room while watching football at the time that the defendant shot him. Members of the defendant’s family found Lloyd Botsford laying on the couch and contacted emergency service personnel who responded to the scene and administered life saving measures, unfortunately, to no avail.
After shooting his father, the defendant, who was unemployed at the time, fled the residence with approximately $1,668.00 in U.S. currency. Additionally, the defendant grabbed his mother’s groceries and placed them into the back of his Aunt’s vehicle that was located outside of the police presence and parked on the side of the residence. The defendant then crossed the street to his Uncle’s home and requested the keys to said vehicle which was, ultimately, denied. As a result, the defendant chose to hide in the back of his Aunt’s vehicle as any attempt to further flee appeared futile. While hiding from members of law enforcement and emergency services in said vehicle the defendant unwittingly locked himself inside unbeknownst to anyone else on scene.
When members of law enforcement descended upon the scene they were unable to locate the defendant. The next morning, on October 8th, 2023, at approximately 7:30 a.m., the defendant used a tire jack he located in the back hatch area of the vehicle to break through the rear hatch window in his Aunt’s vehicle and, subsequently, entered into his Aunt’s home. At that time, the New York State Police were contacted and arrived on scene to place the defendant into custody. After being transported to the New York State Police barracks, defendant was interviewed by New York State Police Investigators when he admitted getting into an argument with his father, Lloyd, prior to grabbing the .22 caliber rifle and shooting his father in the head with one round.
New York State Police Investigators executed a search warrant and processed the crime scene for additional evidence. In processing the scene, the New York State Police recovered a .22 caliber shell casing outside of a bedroom door, consistent with where the defendant stated he was standing prior to executing his father. In addition, the New York State Police located the .22 caliber rifle laying against Lloyd Botsford’s bedroom dresser. The New York State Police Crime Laboratory forensically analyzed the firearm for DNA evidence and, after such analysis, located the defendant’s DNA on the forearm area, stock area, bolt area, and the trigger area of said firearm - consistent with someone having held the rifle in the shooting position. The NYSP Crime Laboratory further excluded Lloyd Botsford’s DNA from those areas of the firearm.
This case was prosecuted at trial by Chief Assistant District Attorney Michael J. Puma while the defendant was represented by the Executive Director of the Sullivan County Legal Aid Society, Tim Havas, Esq. Sullivan County Court Judge James R. Farrell presided over the trial.
Conaty stated, “The defendant’s actions on October 8th, 2023 were a culmination of bad choices that he has made during the course of his life. Despite all of the attempts and opportunities given to the defendant to rehabilitate himself and to forego criminal activity he squandered them. Instead, each time he chose himself and a life influenced by substance abuse. Lloyd Botsford was a loving husband, loving father, and a friend to many people across Sullivan County. In fact, he supported the defendant in his efforts to strip himself away from the demons of addiction. At the end of the day, the defendant’s actions were truly despicable and the defendant did what no son should ever do to their father. Lloyd Botsford did not deserve this ending to his life, a life that was dedicated to his family and this community. However, I want the community and his family to rest assured that this office will be steadfast in ensuring that the defendant receives 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. I want to thank Lloyd’s family for their cooperation and support in this investigation and express my condolences for their deep loss. I also want to thank the New York State Police for their hard work in this investigation in processing and preserving valuable evidence, interviewing witnesses, spending countless hours trying to track down and locate the defendant after this despicable homicide, and for procuring a confession in this case. Those efforts were instrumental in securing a conviction in this case.”
