A Poughkeepsie man who was convicted of first-degree murder earlier this year was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Dutchess County Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Weishaupt said Paul Senecal was sentenced by Dutchess County Court Judge Edward McLoughlin.
Senecal, 38, was accused of stabbing Melanie Chianese, 29, multiple times in her town of Wappinger home in May of 2022. She was taken to MidHudson Regional Hospital, where she later died.
Chianese was the daughter of Senecal’s ex-girlfriend.
Senecal was convicted by a jury of one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree burglary, all felonies; and one count of second-degree criminal contempt, a misdemeanor, on Feb. 24.
McLoughlin sentenced Senecal to life in state prison without the possibility of parole for the first-degree murder conviction; 25 years to life in prison for the second-degree murder convictions; 25 years in prison on the burglary count; and one year for criminal contempt. The sentences are to run concurrently.
“The actions of this defendant were cold. calculated and extremely brutal,” Weishaupt said in a statement released by his office. “This defendant should never walk free again, and Judge McLoughlin’s sentence ensures this.”
Senecal’s attorney, August John Dumser, could not immediately be reached for comment.