A 38-year-old man in New York will serve decades in prison for killing his ex-wife less than two weeks after allegedly murdering his current wife, telling police that “unlike his first victim,” his ex-wife “deserved it.”
Timothy Taylor pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of second-degree murder in the 2023 death of Tishawn Folkes-Taylor, according to authorities.
Taylor also has a pending indictment in Brooklyn for the alleged murder of his current wife, whom he is accused of stabbing to death on May 13, 2023.
At the time of Folkes-Taylor’s murder, Taylor was facing three pending charges in Schenectady City Court: criminal obstruction of breathing, criminal contempt, and harassment. Authorities also stated that Taylor and Folkes-Taylor’s two children were present when he killed his ex-wife.
Taylor reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to his ex-wife’s murder in exchange for a 22-year sentence in a state correctional facility.
According to a news release from the Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office, Taylor traveled from North Carolina to Schenectady on May 27, 2023, and stayed at the Imperial Hotel, which is less than two miles from Folkes-Taylor’s home. After checking in around 11 p.m., Taylor walked the streets of Schenectady, waiting to enter his ex-wife’s home in the 1000 block of Pleasant Street early on May 28.
Taylor stabbed Folkes-Taylor to death, then “exited the house through a bedroom window” before returning to the streets, this time discarding clothing along the way.
While Taylor was in Schenectady, police in Brooklyn were looking for him as a suspect in the murder of his current wife two weeks ago. Taylor traveled to Philadelphia, where authorities apprehended him and had him extradited back to New York with the help of U.S. Marshals.
While Taylor was in Philadelphia, an NYPD detective and a Schenectady PD investigator questioned him about the women’s deaths.
“He told the detectives that after he had killed his then-current wife he felt bad, and he knew he had to come to Schenectady to kill his former wife because he harbored so much animosity toward her and in his words, she, unlike his first victim, deserved it,” according to a release.
Prosecutors stated that street camera video and surveillance footage from various stores were critical in solving this case.
“People should know that Tishawn Folkes-Taylor, while facing down her killer and knowing his intent, made sure to protect her children and after stabbing her more than 22 times, Mr. Taylor fled into the night without harming them,” the District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “These children, particularly the oldest, who was in high school at the time, and their extended family helped our office bring this case.
The DA also expressed his hope that, with the additional charges filed in New York City, Taylor “never lives in the world again as a free man.”
Taylor is set to appear in Schenectady County Court before Judge Matthew J. Sypniewski on September 16, 2025, for his sentencing hearing.
