The judge in the case against Edward Holley, who is accused of beating Megan McDonald to death more than 20 years ago, has declared a mistrial in the case after jurors said they could not come to a unanimous decision.

Orange County Court Judge Hyun Chin Kim declared the mistrial after nearly a week of deliberations did not produce a verdict. The jury sent four notes during deliberations, saying it couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. All the jurors individually told Kim there was a deadlock, leading to the mistrial declaration.

Law enforcement said McDonald, 20, was last seen in the early morning hours of March 14, 2003. Her body was found on a dirt road along Bowser Road near a dumpster in the town of Wallkill the next day and her car was found two days later.

The criminal complaint police filed portrayed an intimate relationship between Holley and McDonald. "We believe this crime was intimate-partner violence," New York State Police Captain Joseph Kolek said in 2023.

Forty-seven witnesses were called to testify by the prosecution over six weeks, including state investigators, state forensic scientists, a former chief medical examiner, former friends of McDonald, former ex-boyfriends of McDonald and former suspects involved in the ongoing investigation.

It is not known if prosecutors will retry Holley. McDonald’s family declined to comment.