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Drew Garnier, 33, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in Delaware County Court on Tuesday, May 13, for the death of his 29-year-old wife Samantha.
The September 4, 2024, attack occurred inside the family’s home on Houck Road in Masonville. Garnier repeatedly stabbed Samantha and the children, according to prosecutors. Samantha died while the two young girls, though gravely injured, survived the attack.
While reading his victim impact statement, Samantha’s father said he believed Garnier was upset after learning that Samantha was pregnant with another daughter. “He had wanted a boy,” Albany station WRGB quoted him as saying.
Garnier pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and two counts of first-degree assault in March as part of plea deal that spared his daughters from having to testify at trial.
The sentencing took place in Delaware County Court before Judge John Hubbard, who called Garnier’s actions “incomprehensible,” telling him, “You took a life and injured your children — they had a right to expect protection from you.”
District Attorney Sean Smith acknowledged that the sentence wasn’t perfect, but said it brought justice without re-traumatizing the children: “While nothing we do can bring Samantha back, her killer has been put where he belongs.”
Before sentencing, Garnier requested that he be allowed to have future contact with his daughters if they wished. DA Smith strongly objected, and Judge Hubbard granted full stay-away orders through the year 2056 — with a carve-out allowing future courts to amend the order only if the victims initiate a request.
Samantha’s father told the court the girls are now under his care. “I am their father now, he said. “I will protect them.”
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