In Onondaga County Court, David Huff accepted two second-degree murder convictions after earlier court fights over evidence and competency.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A Syracuse man avoided trial by pleading guilty to two second-degree murder counts in the shotgun deaths of his 11-year-old son and his girlfriend, moving the case to a May sentencing.
David Huff, 44, entered the pleas April 28 in Onondaga County Court before Judge Ted Limpert. The agreement calls for 20 years to life in prison for each killing, with the sentences served one after the other. Huff faces 40 years to life when he returns May 29. The plea closed the main murder case in the deaths of Jeremiah Huff, 11, and Yeraldith Tschudy, 32, who were killed March 17, 2025, inside a home at 128 Roney Road.
The deal came after a long route through the court system. Huff was first charged after police said he shot Tschudy and Jeremiah with a Remington 870 Express 12-gauge shotgun. Prosecutors also said he fired or tried to fire at his stepfather, Charles O’Donnell, during the same incident. Early charges included murder counts and criminal possession of a weapon. A grand jury later added an attempted murder charge connected to O’Donnell. The plea covered only the two murder counts, while the remaining charges are expected to be dismissed or otherwise resolved at sentencing.
Prosecutors had offered a similar deal months earlier. That offer called for Huff to plead to second-degree murder and accept two consecutive sentences of 20 years to life. Huff initially rejected the deal, and the case continued toward trial. Court dates followed, including proceedings tied to defense requests and evidence issues. A trial date was eventually placed on the calendar. By late April, the case changed course. Huff accepted the murder pleas, leaving the judge to impose the agreed prison term instead of sending the case to a jury.
The guilty plea also followed psychiatric review. Defense attorneys had argued that Huff suffered a mental break on the day of the killings while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. His mental state mattered because the court had to determine whether he could understand the case and assist in his defense. Psychiatric experts evaluated him and found him competent to stand trial. Prosecutors said any impairment was tied to voluntary substance use. That finding kept the prosecution moving and narrowed the path to either trial or a negotiated plea.
The plea hearing itself brought the legal outcome into public view in a jarring way. Huff smiled, laughed and yawned as Limpert read the charges. The judge stopped after seeing his reaction and asked whether Huff found the matter funny. Huff said no and said he had “a joke stuck in my head.” The answer did not stop the hearing. Limpert continued reviewing the charges, and Huff confirmed his pleas. His older son, who had not been at the home during the killings, shouted from the courtroom that Huff was embarrassing himself.
A key part of the hearing involved how the attack on Jeremiah was described. Limpert asked Huff about the allegation that he fired multiple shots at his son, including one close-range shot to the head. Huff denied that exact description but still accepted guilt. Assistant District Attorney Rob Moran said Jeremiah was shot in the head and said he was not focused on Huff’s courtroom reaction. Moran said the prosecution’s attention remained on the victims and their families. That position kept the state’s message centered on the convictions rather than the defendant’s demeanor.
The facts behind the plea began with two emergency calls. Authorities said Jeremiah called his mother, Samantha Gallup-Peltier, during the incident. She then called 911 to report a possible shooting. Prosecutors said the boy died while on the phone. O’Donnell also called 911 and reported that Huff was firing a gun and trying to kill him. Police responded to the Roney Road home and found Jeremiah and Tschudy dead. Huff had fled before officers arrived, turning the case from an emergency call into an overnight search.
Law enforcement searched for Huff for about 12 hours across the area. The search ended the next morning after a citizen spotted him walking near the scene and contacted police. Officers took him into custody close to the home. Body camera footage later showed the arrest on a sidewalk. The arrest allowed prosecutors to move forward with charges and gave families their first look at the man accused of killing two people in a house where one victim was his child.
The murder counts carried different stakes. A first-degree murder conviction could have exposed Huff to life in prison without parole. The second-degree murder pleas carry long prison terms, but they preserve the possibility of parole after decades. Prosecutors agreed to the second-degree murder resolution, which still requires consecutive terms totaling 40 years to life. The plea also avoids a trial where witnesses could have been asked to describe the final phone call, the gun, the victim injuries and the stepfather’s survival in detail.
The case has drawn attention because police said Huff had no known prior domestic violence charges. That fact did not lessen the evidence, but it complicated the public picture of the killings. Neighbors said after the arrests that Huff had seemed friendly. One neighbor said he and the victims were not people she expected to be part of such a case. Prosecutors did not announce a motive in open court at the plea hearing. The absence of a public motive leaves the plea record to stand mostly on actions: the shootings, the 911 calls, the search and the formal admissions.
Tschudy and Jeremiah were described in memorials and family accounts as more than victims in a court file. Tschudy was a mother of two who worked in a helping profession. She had been dating Huff for about six months. Jeremiah was a sixth-grader who liked rocks and was remembered as curious about people and the world. Their families have appeared in court during the case. At one earlier appearance, relatives shouted at Huff and said he had ruined the family. The plea did not erase that anger, but it put a conviction on the record.
The May 29 sentencing is now the next formal step. Limpert is expected to impose the two consecutive 20-years-to-life terms. Prosecutors are expected to address the unresolved attempted murder and weapon counts under the plea agreement. Family members may speak if the court permits victim impact statements. After sentencing, Huff will move from county custody toward state prison intake, and the criminal case will shift from prosecution to punishment.
Huff remains convicted by plea but not yet sentenced. The record now shows two second-degree murder admissions for the deaths of Jeremiah Huff and Yeraldith Tschudy. The final sentence, and any statements from the families, are scheduled for May 29 in Onondaga County Court.
Author note: Last updated May 21, 2026.