David Huff Sentenced to 40 Years to Life for Killing Son and Girlfriend

A New York man who laughed in court after confessing to a double murder has been sentenced to 40 years to life. Victims include his 11-year-old son and his 32-year-old girlfriend.

New York Man Gets 40-to-Life for Double Murder of Son and Girlfriend

David Huff, 44, was sentenced Friday to 40 years to life in prison for the shotgun murders of his 11-year-old son, Jeremiah Huff, and his girlfriend, 32-year-old Yeraldith Tschudy — killings he carried out on March 17, 2025, according to Law & Crime.

Huff pleaded guilty to both murders at an April 28 court hearing that drew widespread attention after he was seen laughing before the judge, telling the court he had a "joke stuck in his head." At sentencing, Onondaga County Judge Ted Limpert referred back to that moment, saying Huff had behaved like a "petulant teenager," according to courtroom reporting by Syracuse.com.

Limpert closed the proceedings with a direct rebuke: "Your actions are reprehensible, and you deserve to be incarcerated for the rest of your life. Even a sentence of life is not long enough for you."

Victims' Families Speak

Several family members addressed Huff from the gallery. Jeremiah's mother, Samantha Gallup Peltier, described receiving a phone call from her son after he had already been shot by his own father. "That phone call is played over and over and over and over in my head, daily," she told the court, as reported by local ABC affiliate WSYR. She ended her statement by telling Huff, "You are destined for the seventh circle of hell."

Onondaga County Chief Assistant District Attorney Robert Moran read a written statement from Tschudy's mother, Judith Seoud. "She had crossed continents, buried her father, raised a child on her own and worked herself to the bone," Seoud wrote. "That is who David Huff took from this world."

Shotgun Attack and Overnight Manhunt

Law & Crime previously reported that Huff used a Remington 870 Express 12-gauge shotgun to shoot Tschudy first, then Jeremiah, at his stepfather's home. Huff also fired at his stepfather but ran out of ammunition before injuring him. He did not enter a guilty plea on the attempted murder charge related to the stepfather.

After the killings, Huff fled the residence, prompting an overnight manhunt. A neighbor spotted him walking near the scene the following morning, at which point he was taken into custody. Authorities stated that Huff had no known history of domestic violence prior to the double murder.

Source: Law & Crime