An Upstate New York man is going to prison for using a crossbow to kill his newborn daughter and injure his wife.
Patrick D. Proefriedt, 28, was sentenced on Friday to 25 years to life in prison for killing his 17-day-old daughter, Eleanor Carey, and injuring his wife, according to a press release from the Broome County District Attorney’s Office. In February, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
On June 26, 2023, police responded to a home in the 2200 block of Route 41 in Colesville, which is about 17 miles northeast of Binghamton. Prosecutors said Proefriedt became upset because Eleanor was crying and began arguing with his wife. He grabbed a crossbow and fired an arrow at his wife, who was holding their child, striking both of them. The wife lived, but Eleanor died.
“After the defendant in this case ended the life of his own child. He fled into the woods, hiding like a scared rat. “A scared rat,” Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar said at a press conference, according to local CBS affiliate WBNG.
Proefriedt also concealed his wife’s phone, preventing her from calling for help, according to deputies.
Authorities immediately launched a massive search for Proefriedt, with New York State Police and Chenango County Sheriff’s Office deputies forming a perimeter around the area using multiple patrol units and an aerial drone.
After his vehicle became stuck in the mud, Proefriedt was discovered hiding in the woods less than a mile from his home and arrested.
Megan Carey, his wife, addressed the court during his sentencing on Friday.
“Despite everything that has happened, I still believe in love, healing, and forgiveness, but he is beyond forgiveness,” she told the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin. “He has no empathy and no humanity.”
Indeed, after his arrest, Proefriedt blamed his wife, claiming she “dared him” to shoot, and never asked detectives how she or their daughter were doing.
On Friday, prosecutors played Carey’s more than 20-minute 911 call with dispatchers. She was reportedly heard reassuring Eleanor, saying “stay with mommy” and “please don’t die.” But when the cops arrived, it was too late. Eleanor had already died.
Prior to his sentencing, Proefriedt reportedly apologised to his wife “for the sake of my child.”
