ELIZABETHTOWN, N.Y. -
Vaida Rennie now knows who allegedly murdered her 45-year-old son, Robert, six weeks ago.
"I'm glad they finally got everybody involved," she said.
Friday morning, police arrested three men from Keeseville. Paul Taylor, 39, is charged with second-degree murder. Michael Rivers, 36, and Scott Denno, 19, are charged with manslaughter. All three are also charged with gang assault.
"We have reason to believe the victim was sought out," N.Y. State Police Capt. Robert LaFountain said.
Investigators would not say why they believe the three men killed the construction worker in the middle of the night at a pull off at the top of Mill Hill in Keeseville back in August.
"The victim was severely beaten and kicked. The defendants were wearing boots, one of the defendants steel-tipped," LaFountain said.
Investigators say after the beating, Rennie walked about a quarter of a mile in the direction of his home, but he only made as far as a foot bridge over the Ausable River, where he died from his injuries.
"He would still be here," his mother said.
Vaida Rennie is furious Paul Taylor was out of jail to begin with. Back in 1996, he was arrested for beating a man to death in Port Henry. Originally charged with murder, he later accepted a plea deal for manslaughter. He served 13 years and was just released from prison two years ago.
"It will make the sentence he could face more severe," Essex County District Attorney Kristy Sprague said.
Regardless of the jail time any of the men face, it still means Robert Rennie's two young daughters will now grow up without their father and their mother. Their mother died a few years ago due to health problems.
"We really can't make sense of a lot of it, wondering why it happened," Vaida Rennie said.
Even with the arrests, it's a question that will remain unanswered for the time being.
Taylor was held without bail. Rivers and Denno were held on quarter of a million dollars bail.
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