A boy was 14 when his girlfriend vanished in 2022, and jurors heard he searched whether a body breaks apart in water before convicting him of murder

A Schenectady County jury has convicted Raymond Wright Jr. of second-degree murder in the 2022 death of his girlfriend, Samantha Humphrey, when the two were both 14 years old. Wright, now 18, was found guilty after fewer than five hours of deliberations, according to the Times Union. Jurors could have convicted him of first-degree manslaughter instead but chose the higher charge.

Humphrey went missing on Nov. 25, 2022, after last being seen near Riverside Park in Schenectady, New York. Her body was found in the Mohawk River in February 2023, about three months after she disappeared. Wright, her on-again, off-again boyfriend, was questioned early in the investigation, but he was not arrested and charged in her death until May 2025.

Prosecutors alleged that Wright strangled Humphrey and threw her body into the river after a late-night walk during which the two teens argued over a possible pregnancy. Wright testified that he fought with her and hit her that night. However, he maintained that he left her alone and alive. Before reaching a verdict, the jury asked to take a second look at what was on both teens’ phones.

The jury wanted another look at what both teens had searched for that night

During deliberations, jurors asked to review the teens’ search histories and GPS data, according to the outlet. Humphrey’s phone showed searches about pregnancy symptoms, while Wright’s searches included questions about abortion and whether a body breaks apart in water. Their GPS data mapped a path through the Stockade neighborhood down to the river near a train bridge.

Prosecutors also pointed to DNA on both teens’ clothing, items belonging to Humphrey found on a wooded path, socks belonging to Wright that were recovered from the water, and witness testimony. Assistant District Attorney Christina Tremante-Pelham said one of the most incriminating details was that Wright “could never account for that hour and a half” after Humphrey’s last phone call.

The defense, led by former state Supreme Court Justice Peter Lynch and attorney Karen Crandall, argued the evidence did not rule out another person’s involvement or suicide. The lawyers noted that another person’s DNA was found on Humphrey’s clothing and pointed to her past mental health treatment. Kristi Kenyon, the defendant’s mother, said after the verdict that someone else killed the teen.

Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney praised the victim’s family after the verdict, saying “their love for Samantha permeated that courtroom.” Jeffrey Humphrey, her father, had spent the years after her disappearance putting up billboards around Schenectady and offering a $10,000 reward for information. After the verdict, he said the family had gone through “hope, pain, doubt” while waiting for answers.

The prosecution built its case around a possible pregnancy, as the teens’ own search histories pointed to that fear on the night Humphrey vanished. A similar motive sat at the center of the case against a former Titans scout who killed his pregnant girlfriend. Humphrey’s death was originally labeled undetermined, though Carney has said he believed all along that she had been killed.

Wright faces 15 years to life in prison, as he was charged as a juvenile offender, while an adult convicted of second-degree murder in New York faces 25 years to life. Police focused on him almost immediately after Humphrey vanished. However, it took prosecutors more than two years to bring charges, a delay Carney said was not deliberate on his office’s part.

Wright is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 20, and Carney has said his office will ask for the maximum term when the case returns to court.