SYRACUSE, NY — A New York man who admitted to killing his girlfriend and 11-year-old son has been sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. David Huff, 44, pleaded guilty to the April 28, 2025, murders of his son, Jeremiah Huff, 11, and his girlfriend, 32-year-old Yeraldith Tschudy.
Courtroom Proceedings
During his sentencing hearing on Friday, Huff displayed disturbing behavior, laughing in court and telling the judge he had a “joke stuck in [his] head.” Judge Ted Limpert reprimanded him, saying Huff acted like a “petulant teenager.”
Family members of the victims addressed the court directly. Samantha Gallup Peltier, Jeremiah’s mother, recounted receiving a phone call from her son after he was shot, saying the recording “plays over and over and over and over in my head, daily.” She told Huff, “You are destined for the seventh circle of hell.”
Onondaga County Chief Assistant District Attorney Robert Moran read a statement from Tschudy’s mother, Judith Seoud, describing her daughter as a hardworking woman who “crossed continents, buried her father, raised a child on her own and worked herself to the bone. That is who David Huff took from this world.”
Details of the Crime
Huff used a Remington 870 Express 12-gauge shotgun to shoot Tschudy and then Jeremiah on March 17, 2025. He allegedly attempted to shoot his stepfather but ran out of ammunition. Huff fled the scene, prompting an overnight manhunt that ended when a neighbor spotted him near the crime scene the following morning.
Authorities noted that Huff had no prior history of domestic violence.
Sentencing
Judge Limpert condemned Huff’s actions, saying, “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.” Huff will serve a minimum of 40 years before becoming eligible for parole.
