Guilty! Angelo Baez found guilty of the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Thomas Rath

By Wendy Post —

After nearly eight days of testimony and less than five hours of deliberations, the 12-member jury in the second trial for the kidnapping, torture, and murder of Thomas Rath reached a verdict on Thursday afternoon.

Forty-eight-year-old Angelo Baez, one of three charged with murder in this case, was found guilty of the first- and second-degree murder charges, and first-degree kidnapping. He was found not guilty on the intimidation charge. His sentencing is set for Feb. 28, at 1:30 p.m. at the Tioga County Courthouse in Owego, N.Y.

Thomas Rath’s father, whose name is Thomas Rath as well, was in the courtroom on Thursday when the verdict was read. Emotional, the elder Rath said he felt good, but that the verdict won’t bring his son back.

“He did it and got what he deserves,” said Thomas Rath’s father of Angelo Baez, adding, “I hope he spends the rest of his life in prison.”

As for Thomas Rath’s family, he stated, with tears welling in his eyes, that things will never be the same.

The jury started deliberating Thursday morning, following the Honorable Judge Adam Schumacher’s instructions.

At approximately 11:19 a.m., the jury sent out a note requesting that the judge reread the law surrounding a murder one charge. Torture, or depraved infliction, was within the definition. If they took pleasure and / or enjoyment in the act, even if working in concert with others in the act of, would fulfill this definition.

At 2:42 p.m., the jury reached a decision; a decision that was rendered at 2:54 p.m. The jury found Angelo Baez guilty of all charges except for the lesser intimidation charge. When the verdict was read, Angelo Baez placed his hands over his face, his elbows on the table in front of him. He was then handcuffed.

As Angelo Baez was escorted from the room, he appeared to have little emotion. He merely looked at the ground and did not make eye contact with anyone in the courtroom.

On the other side of the courtroom, several family members hugged each other, and District Attorney Kirk Martin and Assistant District Attorney Lillian Reardon approached the family to share a few words with them. Several family members of Thomas Rath have been present throughout the trial, and have endured countless hours of testimony regarding the torture and death of their loved one.

The district attorney declined to comment at this time on this case, as he has two more trials left to go.

The jury heard testimony surrounding the Volvo that was used to transport Rath from “The Jungle” to 70 Benjamin Hill Rd. in Newfield, N.Y. The driver of the Volvo was Kysha S. Radcliff, of Lansing, N.Y. Radcliff was aged 39 at the time of the kidnapping and murder of Rath.

Radcliff has been charged with Kidnapping in the First Degree, and will stand trial in Tioga County, N.Y. in February.

Jonathan Glennon will stand trial on the same charges that Howell and Baez were facing. Glennon was in the truck when Thomas Rath was driven to his death on Ekroos Road in Candor, N.Y. The trial is expected to take place in March.

As the prosecution testimony is heard, over and over in these trials, videos are played, often graphic in nature, phone recordings captured, messaging, and of course the video that Joseph Howell sent to his cousin, Antonio Morrow; a video of the actual torture. All of the technology available assisted the prosecution in connecting many of the dots and tracing the movement of the people involved. Impressive, as technology is concerned, cell phone and other records assisted the investigation at placing individuals, like Angelo Baez, at the location of each scene of the crime.

With so many individuals involved from the time of the kidnapping on May 20, 2023, the torture at 70 Benjamin Hill Rd. that lasted hours, and the eventual murder of Thomas Rath on Ekroos Road, it took time for investigators and the district attorney’s office to sort through the offenses and charges, with their primary focus on finding the puppetmaster and the triggermen, in reference to Joseph Howell as the puppetmaster and Baez and Glennon the triggermen.

But technology helped along the way, as well as the lack of cleanup at the crime scene and the blatant use of technology to share the horrific acts with others.

For the victim here, Thomas Rath, his situation of hard times is not unfamiliar, as many find themselves in that situation. But for Rath, the relationship he developed with a woman named Brelynn B. Vorrasi, aged 27 of Lodi, N.Y., was the motivator for Joseph Howell to want Rath dead.

As for Angelo Baez, the jury without a shred of doubt, believed that he was not only present, but he also participated. Angelo Baez worked in concert with Joseph Howell.

Howell was previously involved with Vorrasi, who was originally charged with kidnapping, but her charges were later dropped. Joseph Howell’s anger and obsession over this relationship led to the orchestration of the crime. Angelo Baez, present at each location along the way, with evidence of participation as well.

But now Angelo Baez will await his sentencing on Feb. 28, and the trials for Jonathan Glennon and Kysha S. Radcliff will soon follow, or be underway. Thomas Rath’s family, if present, will relive, once more, what happened on May 20 and May 21, 2023.