Schuyler trial defendant found dead

SCHUYLER COUNTY--According to the Schuyler County District Attorney's Office, Timothy Kelly was found dead Wednesday, Oct. 12, in an apparent suicide. Kelly was a defendant undergoing trial in Schuyler County Court for charges of a sexual offense against a minor as well as possession of child pornography.
The trial of People v. Timothy Kelly commenced Monday, Oct. 3. Kelly had been charged by a Schuyler County grand jury with two counts of predatory sexual offense against a child and numerous counts of possession of child pornography. Earlier this year, Tioga County Court Judge Gerald Keene served the sexual assault charges and the pornography charges, thus requiring two separate trials. Judge Keene was handling the trial due to a conflict for Schuyler County Court Judge Dennis Morris.
Wednesday, Oct. 5, a jury was selected out of nearly 150 potential jurors. The prosecution, handled by Schuyler County District Attorney Joseph Fazzary, presented its case from Wednesday through Friday that week. Fazzary rested his case last Tuesday morning, Oct. 11 after calling 11 witnesses, including a sexual assault nurse examiner, two DNA witnesses from the New York State Police Forensic Investigation Center in Albany and an expert on child sexual assault from New York City. The defense called three witnesses Tuesday, but Kelly did not testify.
Wednesday morning, Oct. 12, shortly before summations were to commence, Fazzary was informed he needed to immediately contact Schuyler County Sheriff William Yessman. Upon doing so, he learned the defendant may have committed suicide. Fazzary took defense attorney James Baker from Ithaca to the remote scene where the suicide had taken place -- off of Rock Cabin Road in Montour Falls -- to identify his client's body. After the body of Kelly was positively identified by his lawyer, Fazzary and Baker returned to the courtroom to advise Judge Keene. The jury was discharged and both cases against Timothy Kelly were dismissed.
Kelly's body was discovered by a bow hunter in the area after he heard a gunshot.