On a tragic night in September 2019, the life of 21-year-old Chelsea Debidin was cut short in New Windsor, New York. A promising college student who had recently graduated with an Associate's degree and was continuing her studies at Mercy College, she was visiting her boyfriend, Esteban Marreo, at the Knox Village Apartments on Blooming Grove Turnpike.
It was there that two men broke into the apartment, forever altering the course of many lives.
The assailants, Cornelius Stubbs, then 51, and Carlos A. Rivera, then 47, both from the City of Newburgh, forced their way into the residence. Inside, a violent confrontation ensued, and both Debidin and her boyfriend were shot. While Marreo sustained serious injuries, Debidin's wounds were fatal. The motive for this brutal home invasion was later revealed to be connected to a pattern of harassment by Stubbs directed at Marreo's sister, who was the mother of one of Stubbs' children.
A multi-agency investigation involving the Town of New Windsor Police, New York State Police, and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force led to the arrest of Carlos A. Rivera. He was charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder. Later, Cornelius Stubbs was also apprehended and faced a litany of charges. The subsequent legal proceedings brought the full scope of the planned attack to light.
The resolution of the case saw both men held accountable for their actions. Carlos Rivera eventually pleaded guilty to ten charges, including first-degree murder, and was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. Cornelius Stubbs, who maintained his innocence, went to trial and was convicted by a jury on all 31 counts against him, which included first-degree murder, attempted murder, burglary, and assault. For his role in the murder of Chelsea Debidin and the violent assault on her boyfriend, Stubbs received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, with an additional consecutive sentence of 25 years to life.
