After eight days of testimony it took just two hours of deliberation on Friday, June 14 for a jury to find Joseph E. Karolys guilty of first-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the October 29, 2022 death of David “Mickey” Myer. The manslaughter charge could garner a 25-year sentence to state prison.
The eight-woman, four-man jury found that Karolys “acted in concert” with others with the intent to cause Myer physical harm, which resulted in Myer’s death. The jury also found that Karolys tampered with physical evidence. Karolys was found not guilty on a charge of bribery.
During the trial, witnesses testified that Karolys, Cummins, and Myer were among a modest crowd celebrating Halloween at the since closed One More Time Tavern on Route 32 in Catskill on October 28, 2022. Witnesses further testified that as the bartender felt Myer was too drunk to drive, Karolys’ son Joseph A. Karolys, who was called to pick up his father, agreed to give Myer a ride home.
Myer’s body was found face down on Route 32 several hours later, his damaged face including a gash along his forehead. Video presented as evidence showed Joseph A. Karolys cleaning what prosecutors said was blood out of his truck. The video also showed police executing a search warrant and finding steel toes from work boots in a wood stove in the Karolys garage.
The prosecution and defense agreed that a fight broke out in the truck on the ride back from Catskill, with Karolys’ son claiming that when he refused to go back to the bar to retrieve Myer’s mobile phone, Myer became violent.
Defense Attorney Carol Morgan said Karolys was passed out in the car, and claimed it was Cummins who assaulted Myer, adding that between his high blood alcohol content and cardiac and other health issues, Myer may have had a heart attack and was already dying.
Morgan also pointed out that Cummins was given a deal on an unrelated weapons charge in exchange for his testimony in the Karolys trial. Cummins first told police he was passed out in the car, later accepted blame for the attack and then put the blame on Karolys.
District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji, in his closing statement to the jury on Thursday afternoon, said any or all of the three could have been involved in the assault on Myer, Karolys still bore responsibility.
Representatives for Karolys said they planned to file an appeal following the verdict.
In a statement, Nneji said the verdict reflected the nature of the crime.
“There is no more serious crime than that which involves the taking of another person’s life,” Nneji said.“The crime scene photo of Mickey Myer’s lifeless body on the side of Route 32, as though he was roadkill, and that his life was disposable, has stayed with me since I first saw it. Today’s verdict speaks to Mickey Myer’s family and loved ones in Saugerties and surrounding areas. Joseph Karolys has found out today that no human being is disposable or expendable.”
Karolys is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday, October 1. The manslaughter charge could yield a prison sentence of up to 25 years.
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