Saranac Lake woman convicted of murdering son-in-law

SARANAC LAKE – A Saranac Lake woman has been sentenced to 17 years to life in prison for the August 2023 murder of an Indian Lake man, her son-in-law.

Ann M. Favro, 58, of Saranac Lake, was charged with killing David J. Chenier, 32, on August 12 last year after New York State Police discovered his body in a home on Big Brook Road following a report of shots fired. evening.

After pleading guilty in August to second-degree murder, a felony, she was sentenced last week by Hamilton County Court Judge Michael Smrtic. Favro will be eligible for parole in 17 years.

Hamilton County District Attorney Marsha Purdue, who prosecuted the case, said Chenier’s brother Donald, sister Anna Williams and wife Bailey each made statements to the court at the sentencing.

Bailey is Favro’s daughter. She was not living with Chenier at the time of his death. They had one biological daughter together and one child from another relationship, but Chenier was considered the father to both.

All three victim statements stated that Favro deprived these children of their relationship with their father. They all mourned for his daughters, saying that they will not have their father with them in the big moments of life, nor in the small moments, adding that they will not have their grandmother either.

Purdue said Favro issued a statement apologizing for what she did, saying there must have been something wrong with her to have done what she did. Purdue said she was unsure how the family felt about Favro’s apology.

In statements read to the court at Favro’s sentencing, Chenier’s siblings described the pain she suffered when she took their brother from them and the anger they feel when she makes the decision to take a life end. Chenier’s wife Bailey opened up about who her husband was as a father, and how their family was torn apart.

Purdue said the statements did not actually affect the sentence, which was already set in the negotiated plea.

Motive not revealed

Purdue doesn’t want to talk much about Favro’s motive for the killing, saying she doesn’t want to hurt people.

“(Favro) felt like her daughter was hurt somehow,” Purdue said.

Chenier’s siblings referenced this in their statements.

“You tried to take care of your child, but you ended up causing more damage,” Donald told Favro.

“There were so many other ways you could have handled that,” Williams wrote. ‘Murder should never have been an option. What did it solve? Absolutely nothing.”

“I wish everything leading up to this moment had been different,” Donald wrote.

Bailey said she still doesn’t think about how Favro did what she did. She shared memories of her husband with the court.

“He was kind, he was funny, he was an incredibly hard worker and he was a proud and devoted father who loved deeply,” Bailey wrote. “This world is a much darker place without David here and I would do everything in my power to bring him back.”

She said she was grateful to the court for the sentence and only wished it could have lasted longer.

“I’m absolutely ashamed to say that you are the woman who brought me into the world,” Bailey told her mother. “Know that you no longer have a daughter or granddaughters.”

Both Anna and Donald said they don’t want an “eye for an eye” for Favro, just for her to think about what she did while in prison.

“I hope it eats you up inside, that because of you no one will ever have a chance to make memories with him again,” Williams wrote.

Donald said that if she seeks forgiveness, it will not come from them, but only from God.

Donald said he spent 20 years in the military, several of them in active combat.

“Taking a life is one of the easiest things a person can do. You and I both know this from our own experience, Ann,” he said. “Living with ourselves afterwards is the hardest part for most.

“You’ve done the one thing that can’t be undone,” Donald added. “This will be a nightmare that will be lived day after day, not only in our dreams, but also when David is needed most, he will not be there.”

Details of the case

Purdue said the plea deal came after much back-and-forth with attorney Marc Zuckerman, who was assigned to defend Favro. Purdue said it would not agree to a plea deal unless the sentence was “up to life.” Second-degree murder carries a minimum sentence of 25 to life in prison. Purdue said she only agreed to a 17-to-life sentence after speaking to the victims and getting their blessing.

According to Purdue, there was significant evidence to support the murder charge.

On the day Favro drove from Saranac Lake and Indian Lake to commit the murder, Purdue said Favro called her employer and said she couldn’t come to work because she had to kill her son-in-law. Reports also indicate that she had tried to recruit others to join the killing, or possibly hire someone to do it for her.

That evening, Purdue said Favro drove from Saranac Lake to Chenier’s home in Indian Lake.

“She knocked on his door and shot him when he answered,” Purdue said.

A porch camera less than a mile from Chenier’s home captured footage of Favro driving there and returning four minutes later.

Early in the investigation, New York State Police asked homeowners on state Routes 28 and 30 in Long Lake and Blue Mountain Lake to keep an eye out for “suspicious found items” on their land or in their outdoor trash bins. There was suspicion that evidence had been discarded in the area.

Purdue said the gun Favro used was never found. She said police collected .30-30 ammunition rounds at the scene, a cartridge commonly used in lever-action rifles and some handguns.

Chenier’s cause of death was determined to be gunshot wounds to the chest and neck.

Favro was arrested during a traffic stop on the same day as the murder, about two or three hours after the murder allegedly occurred.

Purdue grew up in Indian Lake. She said it is a small community and Chenier’s death had a big impact on the town. It was actually difficult for her to find people for the grand jury, she said, because she had to fire several people who said they couldn’t be impartial.

Chenier was an employee at Elkin Tree Service.

Business owner Kevin Elkin made a public post on social media after his death, writing that their work family has suffered an “irreplaceable and devastating loss.”

“He was like a son to me and it’s going to be hard to pick up the pieces and move on,” Elkin wrote. “He loved everything to do with a chainsaw. He was a talented woodcutter and quickly honed his skills performing complicated aerial movements.”

Elkin said Chenier had worked with him for six years and three months.

“He quickly became woven into our lives and became a cornerstone of my business,” Elkin wrote. “We have become smaller. As a family. As a community. As a company. Rest in peace, brother.”