Jury deliberations began Tuesday in the nearly three-week-long trial of Christopher Baldner, the former state trooper accused of killing Monica Goods, 11, of Brooklyn.
Baldner is accused of twice ramming his police cruiser into an SUV during a police chase on the State Thruway, causing the SUV to roll over. He is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and reckless endangerment.
Closing arguments ended Monday. The jury on Tuesday reviewed video and audio immediately following the crash, listening to Goods’ father make impassioned pleas with Baldner to help him and to find his daughter who was ejected from the vehicle and died.
Outside the Ulster County Courthouse, supporters of the Goods’ family called for justice.
Lisa Royer, of Kingston, collected signatures for a petition seeking to end high-speed police chases, especially when children are in the vehicle.
“This is not a Kingston problem or an Ulster County problem. This is a New York state problem. And that’s why we started that petition for the whole New York state, because this case covers a lot of ground in New York. We need justice for Monica Goods,” Royer said.
Jury deliberations will continue Wednesday.
Lisa Royer, of Kingston, stands outside the Ulster County courthouse on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Spectrum News 1/John Camera)