Goshen grandmother’s killer denied early release
Jennifer Molyneaux, who was 17 at the time of the crime, is serving 19 years to life for the killing of Helen Mills inside her home on Green Street in Goshen.
A state appellate court has denied an early release bid by the woman convicted in the 2014 murder of an 81-year-old Goshen grandmother, ruling that her original sentence will stand.
Jennifer Molyneaux, who was 17 at the time of the crime, is serving 19 years to life for the killing of Helen Mills inside her home on Green Street in Goshen.
Orange County District Attorney Dave Hoovler, who prosecuted the case, described the crime as “extremely heinous.”
“The victim in this case was beaten… and then the house was set on fire,” Hoovler said.
Prosecutors said Molyneaux and her boyfriend at the time, Devin Giordano, broke into Mills’ home in August 2014 in what they called a drug-fueled robbery. Authorities said Mills was beaten and strangled before the house was set ablaze in an attempt to cover up the crime.
Both were convicted and have been behind bars for years. Giordano is serving 20 years to life.
Molyneaux recently appealed to the state under New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act, arguing she was a victim of domestic violence and was coerced into participating in the killing.
The law allows judges to impose reduced sentences in certain cases if a defendant can prove severe domestic abuse significantly contributed to their criminal behavior and that the original sentence was unduly harsh.
Hoovler said the court found she did not meet that threshold.
“The court never got past the first step where she has to show that she was subjected to domestic violence that was severe physical or psychological abuse,” he said.
Prosecutors have previously argued that Molyneaux and Giordano had only been together for a few months and did not live together at the time of the crime — disputing claims that she was subjected to the level of abuse required under the statute.
The appellate court upheld the sentence.
Molyneaux, now 28, will not be eligible for parole until 2033. Giordano is not eligible for parole until 2035.
Mills’ daughter, who still lives on Green Street in the home where the killing happened, told News 12 she was relieved by the decision.
“I was pleased with the outcome. I didn’t believe she should be released from prison,” she said.
She added that the legal proceedings reopened painful memories more than a decade later.
“You never forget it. It’s always there… We can’t change what happened. We can move forward.”
Molyneaux’s attorney declined to comment.
The case shocked the Goshen community when it first broke in 2014.
You can read News 12’s original report on the arrests here.
