SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (TCN) — A 38-year-old man recently admitted to fatally stabbing his ex-wife about two weeks after allegedly killing his current wife.
The Schenectady County District Attorney’s Office announced that Timothy Taylor pleaded guilty on July 1 to second-degree murder in connection with the death of his ex-wife, Tishawn Folkes-Taylor. He is set to be sentenced on Sept. 16 and faces 22 years to life.
According to prosecutors, on May 27, 2023, Timothy Taylor traveled to Schenectady, New York, from North Carolina and checked into a hotel at around 11 p.m. In the early hours of May 28, 2023, he reportedly entered a home and fatally stabbed his ex-wife while her three children were present. The defendant is reportedly the father of the two youngest children.
Taylor and his ex-wife were married for more than a decade. Prosecutors noted that there were numerous incidents of domestic violence during their marriage. At the time of the stabbing, Taylor had three pending charges out of Schenectady for criminal obstruction of breathing, criminal contempt, and harassment against his ex-wife.
The district attorney’s office said Taylor then left the residence through a window, walked downtown, and threw away clothing on the way before leaving Schenectady.
At the time, the Brooklyn Homicide Squad was reportedly working to locate Taylor on suspicion of fatally stabbing his current wife on May 13, 2023. The case is still pending.
U.S. Marshals found Taylor at a bar in Philadelphia, and he was extradited to New York.
According to prosecutors, Taylor told 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 she, “unlike his first victim, deserved it.”
In a statement, District Attorney Robert Carney said, “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. These children, particularly the oldest, who was a high school student at the time, and their extended family were instrumental to our office in bringing this case.”
