An appeals court has upheld the conviction of Emerson “John” Tohafjian, a Varick man found guilty of first-degree murder for the July 2018 shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend, Lori McConnell, and Chuck Andrus in Waterloo.
The court dismissed several issues under appeal, including the verdict being against the weight of evidence and inadequate legal representation, noting that two eyewitnesses identified Tohafjian as the shooter.
Seneca County District Attorney Mark Sinkiewicz, who prosecuted the trial, expects Tohafjian to take the case to the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.
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