By Wendy Post —
TIOGA COUNTY, N.Y. — On March 17, 2025, St. Patrick’s Day, 34-year-old Jonathan Glennon, who is charged with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in the case involving the kidnapping, torture, and murder of 34-year-old Thomas Rath, appeared in Tioga County Court. Thomas Rath was taken against his will from “the Jungle” in Ithaca, N.Y., his body discovered months later in a shallow grave in Candor, N.Y.
Glennon appeared on Monday, shackled, to sit through preliminary court procedures leading up to a trial date of May 5, 2025.
With Honorable Adam Schumacher presiding, and Tioga County District Attorney Kirk Martin and Lillian Reardon, assistant district attorney, ready to present the people’s case, Glennon was brought into court, flanked by court officers and his attorney, Luke Z. Fenchel, out of Ithaca, N.Y.
Pictured is Thomas Rath. The 34-year-old was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered in May of 2023, his body found in a shallow grave off of Ekroos Road in Candor, N.Y. (File Photo)
The appearance was part of a Huntley hearing, in which a defendant may challenge the voluntary and lawful nature of any statement made to police if the prosecution intends to use the statement at trial. In this matter, a challenge by Glennon’s defense regarding his location and eventual transport from Lewiston, Maine, and questions surrounding jurisdiction arose.
For this, Senior Investigator Richard Prunier, with New York State Police Troop C, was called to the stand to answer questions posed by the defense. Glennon, Investigator Punier testified, was sought after for questioning in July 2023, and just two months following Rath’s disappearance.
On Aug. 15, 2023, and following the discovery of Rath’s remains on Ekroos Road in Candor, investigators traveled to Maine once more as Glennon was now implicated in this case, and evidence was mounting.
Jonathan Glennon was brought to Tioga County, N.Y. from the state of Maine on Sept. 12, 2023, and has been awaiting trial ever since. Jonathan Glennon pleaded not guilty and previously refused a plea bargain that would have reduced the severity of his charges in exchange for cooperation in this case.
Now, with legal parameters being set around allowable testimony for the upcoming trial, prosecutors will prepare for the third Murder One trial in this case. Both counsels have until March 28 to file further motions.
Kysha S. Radcliff, of Lansing, N.Y., who originally pleaded not guilty to a charge of First Degree Kidnapping in this case, was found guilty on Feb. 29, 2025 at the Tioga County Courthouse in New York.
Kysha Radcliff was the driver of the Volvo used to transport Thomas Rath from “The Jungle” to 70 Benjamin Hill Rd. in Newfield, N.Y., where Rath was tortured.
Angelo Baez, who was found guilty in December 2024 of first- and second-degree murder charges and first-degree kidnapping charges, was scheduled for sentencing on March 21, 2025 at the Tioga County Courthouse.
In February, Joseph Howell, the first tried and convicted of similar charges and often referred to as the “ringleader,” was sentenced to 25 to life for the murder charge, 25 to life for the kidnapping charge, and six years for the intimidation of a witness charge; all of this equating to 31 years behind bars.
The Jonathan Glennon trial, now scheduled for May 5, 2025, is expected to span several weeks and will take place at the Tioga County Courthouse in Owego, N.Y.
I hope Jonny rots in jail where he belongs. The world is safer with out him.