Court Upholds Hudson Valley Man Murder Conviction of Niece

A state appeals court unanimously affirmed the conviction and prison sentence for a 47-year-old Ulster County man in connection with the 2012 beating death of his 2-year-old niece.

The Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court, unanimously affirmed the February 10, 2014 conviction of Joseph Rodriguez, of New Paltz, following a jury trial in the Ulster County Court. Rodriguez was found guilty of 2nd-degree murder for the brutal beating of his 2-year-old niece, Asia, who lived with the Rodriguez and his family in New Paltz.

According to the Ulster County District Attorneys' office, Asia's badly beaten body was found partially buried under a pile of leaves outside Rodriguez's home on June 20, 2012. An autopsy revealed that the cause of the young child’s death was severe skull fractures with brain injuries due to blunt force trauma. In addition to these horrific injuries, the victim had abrasions, lacerations and bruises all over her body.

Following a jury trial Rodriguez was convicted in the murder of Asia and sentenced in Ulster Count Court for the maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

On his appeal, Rodriguez challenged the weight of the evidence that he was the person responsible for the horrific crime. He also challenged that statements he made to a child protective services worker should have been suppressed because the worker was an agent of the police. Rodriguez also argued that his wife’s testimony against him should be disqualified by martial privilege. The Appellate Division, Third Department rejected the defendant’s arguments.

Rodriguez will serve his 25 years to life sentence. In 1993, he was convicted of manslaughter for the bludgeoning death of a New York City woman.