Contract Killing: Wallkill Man Paid Friend To Stab Neighbor To Death, Jury Finds

Orange County resident Enoch Lowe, age 25, of Wallkill, was found guilty of first-degree murder and related charges by an Orange County jury on Thursday, May 16.

Prosecutors said Lowe agreed to pay 24-year-old Damante Stansberry, of Middletown, $15,000 to kill his neighbor, with whom he had a longstanding feud.

The victim was found dead from multiple stab wounds inside his detached garage on the evening of Oct. 30, 2022.

According to investigators, Lowe acted as a lookout while Stansberry repeatedly stabbed the victim, who had been repairing a fence in his backyard.

Text messages recovered by police showed that Lowe told Stansberry to signal when the victim was outside his home, alone, and vulnerable to attack.

Evidence also showed that the perpetrators spoke on the phone immediately after the killing.

Stansberry pleaded guilty to murder in March 2023 and is awaiting sentencing.

Lowe was arrested nearly a year after the killing, on Oct. 10, 2023, following a multi-agency investigation that included Wallkill Police, New York State Police, the FBI, and the US Secret Service.

In court Thursday, jurors found him guilty of the following charges:

• First-degree murder
• Tampering with physical evidence
• Conspiracy

He faces life in prison when he’s sentenced on Thursday, July 18.

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