A New York man allegedly murdered his pregnant wife and tried to kill his two young daughters because he was upset his unborn child was going to be another girl.
Drew Garnier, 33, stabbed his five-months-pregnant wife, Samantha Garnier, 29, to death and turned the knife on his daughters Adelina, 9, and Izzie, 6, on September 4, 2024.
He entered a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty on March 25. He was finally sentenced to 30 years in prison and 15 years of post-release supervision on May 13, according to a statement from the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office.
During his rampage just after Labor Day last year, Drew slaughtered his wife and their unborn daughter, and severely injured his two children inside their Masonville Home.
Police rushed to the scene in response to calls of a domestic dispute. Drew was immediately arrested.
He was charged and eventually found guilty of first-degree manslaughter and two counts of first-degree assault – all class B violent felonies.
Samantha was airlifted to a hospital and pronounced dead. Adelina and Izzie were also hospitalized and eventually recovered from their injuries.
During his victim impact statement, Samantha’s devastated father, Gregory Vernagallo, 66, claimed Drew was driven to kill simply because ‘he wanted a boy.’
He added the little girls, who he has since adopted, are traumatized from watching their mother perish and being brutally attacked by their own father.
‘I am their father now, I will protect them,’ Vernahallo said, according to the district attorney’s office’s statement.
Drew asked Judge John Hubbard to be able to contact his kids if they wanted to speak with him, but District Attorney Shawn Smith immediately objected.
Hubbard agreed with Smith and issued a stay way order between Drew and his daughters that expires in 2056, which Drew refused to sign.
The judge said changes could be made to the no contact mandate at Adelina and Izzie’s will.
Smith admitted her felt the plea deal entered between prosecutors and Drew was far too light for his violent and evil crimes, but he wanted the girls to ‘focus on recovering from their ordeal,’ instead of dragging them through a trial.
‘District Attorney Shawn J. Smith reiterated the details of the plea agreement and stated the sentence was not perfect, but that is spared the children the trauma of trial,’ the statement from the district attorney’s office reads.
After sentencing the cold-hearted killer, Hubbard emphasized how disgusted he was with Drew’s actions.
According to a GoFundMe that raised more than $23,100 after she died, ‘Sammi’ (left) was a dedicated mother who adored her kids (middle and right)
During his rampage just after Labor Day last year, Drew (left) slaughtered his wife (right) and their unborn daughter, and severely injured his two children inside their Masonville Home
The little girls, who have been adopted by their granfather, are traumatized from watching their mother (right) perish and being brutally attacked by their own father (left)
‘You took a life and injured your children. They had a right to expect protection from you,’ he said before ordering Drew to be taken into state custody.
In a statement, Smith said: ‘While nothing we do can bring Samantha back, her killer has been put where he belongs.’
According to a GoFundMe that raised more than $23,100 after she died, ‘Sammi’ was a dedicated mother who adored her kids.
She was due to give birth to her third child in February.
