A Chautauqua County jury has convicted Anthony Taglianetti in the murder of Clymer Central Schools Superintendent Keith Reed Jr.. After deliberating for a three hours Friday afternoon, jurors issued their decision just before 4:30 p.m, finding Taglianetti guilty of second-degree murder in Reed's September 2012 shooting death.
Reed, 51, was shot to death after Taglianetti discovered Reed was continuing a prior relationship with his wife, Mary Taglianetti.
During the trial, prosecutors told jurors the defendant drove 350 miles to Western New York from his home in Woodbridge, Virginia to shoot Reed after learning of the rekindled relationship, which began two years earlier.
One particular explicit e-mail is said to have triggered the deadly action.
Reed and Mary Taglianetti had met only once in person, in Albany in 2010, but had been again communicating in the time leading up to the killing.
Closing arguments in the three-week trial were presented Friday morning. Jurors were instructed and charged around 1:30 p.m.
The prosecution called dozens of witnesses in the high-profile trial, including the defendant's wife. The defense called only two witnesses when proceedings continued this week.
The killing outside Reed's rural Clymer home shocked the small Southern Tier community. Reed, a divorced father of three, was shot three times on September 21, 2012. Following a manhunt, Taglianetti, a former Marine, was found in a Virginia forest and taken into custody eight days after Reed was found dead.
Taglianetti, 43, showed no visible reaction when the verdict was read. He did not take the stand during the trial.
Taglianetti will be sentenced February 24.
