A Schenectady County jury began hearing the first detailed account Wednesday of what prosecutors say happened the night 14-year-old Samantha Humphrey vanished near the Mohawk River in November 2022, three months before her body was pulled from the water. Raymond Wright Jr. is accused of killing Humphrey, and opening statements in his trial laid out dueling narratives built around cellphone data, DNA evidence and a coat prosecutors say was stained with blood.
Opening statements began on Wednesday for Wright, according to WRGB, which reported that Humphrey's body was found in the Mohawk River in February 2023. Humphrey disappeared on Nov. 25, 2022, near Riverside Park and the Mohawk River, as reported by WNYT, and was reported missing that same month.
Surveillance Video and GPS Pings Frame the Night
Prosecutors told the jury that surveillance footage and cellphone GPS data showed Humphrey and Wright walking into a wooded area near the Mohawk River on the night of Nov. 25, 2022, the station's report states. Only Wright was seen leaving the area after the pair entered Riverside Park, WNYT reported. The timeline matters because, per the Daily Gazette, prosecutors said 11:36 p.m. was the last time anyone heard from Humphrey.
According to the same account, Wright's phone GPS showed him leaving the area around 12:55 a.m. and exiting the park near Erie Boulevard about two minutes later. Wright was seen walking to the river with socks on and was later seen walking home without them, prosecutors said. Investigators subsequently found two white socks floating in the water near the river, and Humphrey's father found her coat near the river as well.
DNA, Blood and a Debris Field in the Mohawk
DNA testing found a mixture of Humphrey's and Wright's DNA on the socks, prosecutors said, while blood was found on the coat Wright wore in security videos, according to WRGB. Prosecutors also said Wright inspected his coat after walking out of the woods alone without Humphrey, and that he was captured on camera near the river that night.
Investigators searched an underwater debris field while looking for Humphrey, and her body was recovered once that field was removed in February 2023, WRGB reported. The outlet noted that the prosecution plans to show the jury clothing found near the scene, GPS data, surveillance video and text messages exchanged between the two teenagers.
Pregnancy Records Introduced as Prosecutors Outline Wright's Account
Prosecutors told the jury that records showed Humphrey was pregnant, and that Wright said she never told him about it, per WNYT's reporting. Prosecutors also said Wright claimed he never went near the water that night, a claim WRGB's report places directly against the GPS and surveillance evidence prosecutors say contradicts it.
The defense, for its part, acknowledged that Wright and Humphrey were together near the river that night but argued he did not kill her, according to WRGB. “The defense is arguing- yes, the two teens were together that night down by the river. But Wright Jr. didn't kill Samantha,” the station reported. Defense attorneys pointed to DNA from a third party, identified as DeRal Williams, found on the wrist areas of Humphrey's jacket, WRGB reported.
Conflicting Accounts of Cause of Death
Accounts of Humphrey's cause of death have diverged in prior reporting. The Daily Gazette has reported that the medical examiner was unable to determine a conclusive cause of death, while strangulation was considered the most likely cause. The Times Union, meanwhile, has reported that an autopsy found Humphrey died by homicide caused by asphyxiation.
The trial is expected to last up to three weeks, according to WNYT. Jurors are set to continue hearing testimony and reviewing the physical evidence — from the socks pulled from the river to the cellphone records tracing Wright's movements that night — as both sides build out the competing narratives presented in their opening statements.
