A routine welfare check at a home on Albany Post Road in Hyde Park turned into a homicide investigation after officers found 71-year-old William Martin Wein dead inside the residence. Weeks later, a 31-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with his death.
The Town of Hyde Park Police Department responded to the welfare check on October 6, according to the seed facts behind this report, and found Wein deceased at the scene. As reported by NEWS10, “On Oct. 6, authorities conducted a welfare check at a private residence on Albany Post Road. When officers arrived, they found Wein dead inside the home.”
The Dutchess County Medical Examiner’s Office later determined that Wein’s death was a homicide, a finding that shifted the case into state hands. Per the Daily Freeman, “The Dutchess County Medical Examiner later determined the manner of death to be homicide,” after which “state police took over the investigation.”
Charges Filed Against Nicholus Peterson
On October 17, New York State Police charged 31-year-old Nicholus C. Peterson with murder in the second degree, a class A-I felony, in connection with Wein’s killing. The same report from the Daily Freeman states that Peterson’s address was not provided, and that he was charged “for the killing” following the state police takeover of the case.
Accounts differ on exactly when Peterson was taken into custody. News 12 Westchester reported that “upon further investigation, 31-year-old Nicholus Peterson was taken into custody Friday,” while the station’s report notes he was “being charged with murder.” NEWS10, however, reported that “then on Saturday, Peterson was arrested,” adding that he “was subsequently remanded to the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center.”
Peterson remains held at the Dutchess County Justice and Transition Center, according to that same NEWS10 account. Neither outlet has reconciled the discrepancy over the exact day of the arrest.
Investigation Involved Multiple Agencies
The case drew in several law enforcement bodies beyond the local department that first responded to the Albany Post Road address. The New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation at Rhinebeck conducted the probe, with the Troop K Major Crimes Unit, the Town of Hyde Park Police Department, and the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office all participating, per the case facts compiled around this story and reported by Newport Dispatch.
Police have not disclosed how Wein was killed. News 12 Westchester’s reporting is explicit on that point, stating plainly that “police have not revealed how Wein was killed,” and no subsequent account has filled in that detail.
New York State Police have urged anyone with information about the case to contact Troop K Headquarters at (845) 677-7300. Hyde Park sits within Dutchess County, New York, where the Albany Post Road residence where Wein was found remains the center of the investigation as it moves forward.
