Indictments Made In Middletown Double Fatal Stabbings: DA

MIDDLETOWN, NY — A Middletown man who was accused of murdering two men is now facing multiple felony counts.

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said that, on Wednesday, Kenol Baptiste, 30, of Middletown, was arraigned in Orange County Court on an indictment charging two counts each of first-degree murder and second-degree murder, felonies.

He was sent back to Orange County Jail without bail and is next scheduled to be back in court May 31.

Prosecutors said, on April 1, Baptiste had a fight with two men in a home in which they all lived in the city of Middletown.

During the confrontation, police said Baptiste used a knife to stab both of the other men, one of whom walked out of the residence before collapsing.

Law enforcement said Baptiste then left the home and again attacked the man who collapsed outside, continuing to stab him.

Baptiste then hid the knife he used and fled from the scene.

Members of the Middletown city police responded to the location and found Baptiste in a nearby wooded area.

Both of the men died from their wounds.

Hoovler said the violence perpetrated by Baptiste was unsettling.

“While this indictment cannot bring back the victims to their friends and family,” he said, “my office will nonetheless pursue justice on their behalf.”