Above: Gerald Babcock. Photo from New York State Police. Below: Jamielynn Bleakley. Photo from Keyser Funeral Service website.
A Denning man has been arrested and charged with manslaughter, after allegedly beating his girlfriend to death in the couple's home in a remote area near the Ulster/Sullivan County border.
According to a statement from the New York State Police, first responders from Mobil Medic responded on the morning of March 6 to a Sullivan County 911 call at 8 Woodfield Road in Denning, where they found 37-year-old Jamielynn Bleakley outside the house suffering from multiple injuries. Bleakley died of her injuries the next day at Westchester Medical Center.
Upon investigation, police learned that Bleakley's boyfriend, 39-year-old Gerald Babcock, had been living with her for several months, and that there was a history of domestic violence in the couple's relationship.
Babcock was arrested on March 11 by Village of Liberty police officers and charged by state police with first-degree manslaughter. He was arraigned in the Town of Ulster Court and remanded to the Ulster County Jail without bail.
State police Senior Investigator Peter Kusminsky said investigators “don’t believe there was a weapon involved. It was physical, with his (Babcock’s) hands.”
Bleakley's children, ages 10 and 7, were staying with their father in Napanoch at the time of the beating, according to Kathy Moretti, director of Family of Woodstock's Domestic Violence Services...
..."I just wish we were able to help her," said Moretti, who spoke with many of Bleakley's friends over the weekend.
An obituary for Bleakley on the website of the Keyser Funeral Service states that a fund for Bleakley's two children has been set up in care of their father, Timothy Bleakley:
The family suggests memorial contributions be made: In Trust For Corey & Caitlyn Bleakley, C/O Timothy C. Bleakley, 579 State Route 55, Napanoch, NY 12458.
