A peace officer and sergeant is accused of using a hammer to violently beat a Hudson Valley woman to death.

On Friday, 49-year-old Luis Rondon of New Windsor was arraigned on an indictment charging him murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, all felonies, in connection with what officials describe as the "bludgeoning death" of a woman inside of her the Town of New Windsor home.

Deborah A. Waldinger, 32, was found dead on Oct. 9 at the South Gate Village Apartments by a maintenance worker as he tried to enter her residence to perform work inside.

“The tragic death of this young woman is made even more horrific by the fact that it occurred in her own home,” Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said. “It is always disturbing when someone whose job is to promote public safety is accused of senseless violence."

Rondon was arrested days later in Californa after he allegedly fled to the West Coast. At the arraignment, prosecutors argued that Rondon killed the victim, who he knew, by striking her repeatedly on the head with a recently purchased hammer, and then flew to California.

Rondon, a peace officer and sergeant with the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

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