TL;DR: Jury selection is set to begin in the trial of Raymond Wright Jr., now 18, accused of murdering 14-year-old Samantha Humphrey of Schenectady, New York. Humphrey vanished in November 2022; her body was recovered from the Mohawk River at Riverside Park in February 2023, and the autopsy was inconclusive. Wright, her former boyfriend, was arrested in May 2025 and has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
The Samantha Humphrey trial is about to get underway in Schenectady County, nearly four years after the 14-year-old vanished. Jury selection is set to begin in the case against Raymond Wright Jr., now 18, accused of killing Humphrey — his former girlfriend — whose body was found in the Mohawk River at Riverside Park in February 2023, WAMC reported Sunday. Wright was arrested in May 2025, charged with second-degree murder, and has pleaded not guilty.
For Humphrey’s family, the trial is the latest chapter in a case that has haunted Schenectady since the fall of 2022 — a disappearance that drew billboards, yard signs and a $20,000 reward, followed by a nearly two-and-a-half-year wait for an arrest.
The Disappearance: November 2022
Humphrey was 14 when reported missing in November 2022. What began as a missing-child case grew into one of the area’s most visible searches in years. Her family refused to let it fade: billboards bearing her face went up, yard signs dotted neighborhoods, and a $20,000 reward was offered. For months there were no answers — only the family’s pleas and a community that kept looking.
The Discovery in the Mohawk River
In February 2023, about three months after she vanished, Humphrey’s body was recovered from the Mohawk River at Riverside Park in Schenectady. The discovery turned a missing-person case into a homicide investigation — but left a forensic puzzle: the autopsy was inconclusive, with no definitive cause or manner of death.
An inconclusive autopsy doesn’t end a case, but it raises the prosecution’s burden. Without a forensic finding of how she died, the state must build proof on circumstantial evidence: timelines, witness accounts, digital records and the defendant’s statements.
An Arrest After Two and a Half Years
Police arrested Wright in May 2025 — some 27 months after the body was found — charging second-degree murder. A teenager himself when Humphrey disappeared, he is now 18 and will be tried as an adult. He has pleaded not guilty and remains presumed innocent unless a jury finds otherwise. Under New York law, second-degree murder carries 15 years to life.
What Jury Selection Means
Jury selection is the trial’s first formal step: both sides question prospective jurors to seat an impartial panel in a case that drew years of local attention. Given the billboards, the reward and sustained coverage, seating that panel may take time. Once done, opening statements begin — and the public hears the full shape of a case that has unfolded in fragments for nearly four years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Samantha Humphrey?
A 14-year-old from Schenectady who went missing in November 2022. Her body was recovered from the Mohawk River at Riverside Park in February 2023.
Who is Raymond Wright Jr.?
Humphrey’s former boyfriend, now 18. Arrested in May 2025 on a second-degree murder charge, he has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent.
What did the family do after she vanished?
Mounted a highly visible search: billboards with her face, yard signs across neighborhoods, and a $20,000 reward for information.
Where was her body found?
In the Mohawk River at Riverside Park in Schenectady, in February 2023 — about three months after she disappeared.
What does an inconclusive autopsy mean?
The medical examiner could not determine cause or manner of death. Prosecutors must prove the killing through timelines, witnesses, digital records and other circumstantial evidence.
What sentence does Wright face?
Second-degree murder in New York carries 15 years to life in prison, with the judge setting the minimum term.
Why did the arrest take so long?
Police have not detailed the investigation publicly. The May 2025 arrest — 27 months after the body was found — suggests years of case-building before charges.
What happens now?
Lawyers question prospective jurors to seat a panel, then opening statements and evidence follow. The trial is expected to draw close attention in Schenectady County.
