Court overturns conviction in death of woman found in Froehlich Farm Nature Preserve

A state appellate court has overturned the conviction of a man charged with the 2013 murder of a woman found strangled in the Froehlich Farm Nature Preserve in Huntington Station, citing a lack of physical evidence beyond DNA showing the defendant and the victim had a sexual encounter.

The Second Judicial Department's Appellate Division ruled 3-1 to dismiss the indictment against Fernando Romualdo, 32, of Huntington Station. Romualdo was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in 2017 for second-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old Sarah Strobel, a graduate of Walt Whitman High School.

Romualdo, a cocaine addict at the time of the murder, has denied killing Strobel, also of Huntington Station, and said he has no recollection of having sex with her.

At the time of his arrest, Romualdo was serving a three-year sentence in an upstate prison for the second-degree rape of a juvenile female.

Strobel's death was the first of four slayings of Huntington Station residents in 2013 and 2014. Those homicides galvanized the community, which pressed elected and police officials for more protection and a crackdown on drugs, gangs and violence.

In its decision, the appellate panel said prosecutors had presented no evidence at trial placing Romualdo at or near the crime scene or that the sexual contact between the defendant and the victim occurred around the time of the murder.

"At most, the DNA evidence established, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant had sexual contact with the victim at some unspecified time and place," the panel wrote. "Viewing the trial evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, we find that it was legally insufficient to establish, directly or circumstantially, that the defendant … intentionally caused the victim’s death."

Appellate Judge Sheri Roman dissented, arguing there was legally sufficient evidence to convict Romualdo.

There was no evidence any other person had a sexual encounter with the victim, Roman wrote. "Additionally, the defendant, who lived close to where the victim’s body was discovered, gave a false statement to the police that he never had sex with the victim and had never seen her, which was contradicted by the DNA evidence."

Romualdo, who completed his sentence on the rape charge, is expected to be released from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora on the murder charge, said Felice Milani, an appellate attorney for the Suffolk County Legal Aid Society.

"I am happy the Appellate Division recognized the lack of evidence that Mr. Romualdo killed Mrs. Strobel," Milani said. "It was a tragedy so hopefully her death will be solved."

In court papers, Legal Aid attorneys said Strobel was a homeless drug addict who worked as a prostitute.

In a statement, the Suffolk County district attorney's office said it disagrees with the decision "and will be applying to reargue our position before the Appellate Division and seeking leave to the Court of Appeals."

Strobel was found by a man walking on a trail on the 300-acre preserve on Oct. 3, 2013. Police said she was found partially undressed.

Authorities said Strobel had been sexually assaulted and strangled, and they found evidence of blunt force trauma to her head, arms, legs and torso.

More than two years after the murder, Romualdo was arrested after his DNA matched swab samples taken as part of a sexual assault kit on Strobel's body.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.