Middletown Man Charged With Murder Of 3-Year-Old

MIDDLETOWN, NY — An Orange County man who was accused of causing the death of a child was indicted by a grand jury.

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said the grand jury charged Gionni Sellers, 23, of Middletown, with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter, felonies, for recklessly engaging in conduct which created a grave risk of death to a 3-year-old boy, under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life.

The result was the death of the child, authorities said.

Sellers was arraigned Tuesday in Orange County Court and sent to the Orange County jail in lieu of $750,000 bail or $5 million secured or partially secured bond.

He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life if convicted of the murder charge.

Prosecutors said, from May to June, Sellers was responsible for watching the 3-year-old son of his girlfriend.

In the days leading up to the child’s death, Sellers inflicted blunt force trauma to the child’s head and torso, police said.

The devastating injuries caused grievous harm throughout the child’s body, including severe trauma to the child’s brain, which ultimately caused his death, authorities said.

An investigation conducted by the Town of Wallkill Police Department, assisted by the New York State Police, the Hudson Valley Crime Analysis and the Orange Center District Attorney’s Office, resulted in Sellers' arrest Dec. 16.

Hoovler thanked the police agencies that were involved in the case.

“As alleged, this defendant’s depraved and wicked actions caused the senseless death of a vulnerable child,” he said. “My office, together with our law enforcement partners, will pursue justice for the victim in this case and thereby give voice to the voiceless.”