David Huff, 43, pleaded guilty to murdering his 11-year-old son, Jeremiah Huff, and his girlfriend, Yeraldith Tschudy, 32, in a brutal shooting inside a home in Syracuse upstate New York a year ago

Around 9:30pm on March 17, 2025, Huff opened fire inside the home, killing both victims and allegedly fired at his stepfather as well

In court this week Huff who admitted to killing his child and his girlfriend with a shotgun was seen smirking and laughing as the charges were read aloud

As the Judge read details of the crime, Huff smiled and chuckled to himself, ‘You find this funny?’ admonished Judge Theodore H. Limpert who stopped proceedings abruptly to inquire about his mirth

Huff, still laughing, replied: ‘No, no, it’s a joke stuck in my head… Go on’

Asked to enter his plea, Huff responded nonchalantly, ‘I’m guilty of all that. Whatever you guys say I’m guilty of’

Initially charged with first and second-degree murder, Huff pleading to two counts of second-degree murder, means he is spared possible life sentence without parole

Instead he faces 40 years to life in prison at sentencing, scheduled for late May

Facing two counts of murder David Huff appears tickled, even laughing as the charges were read. He then pled guilty to shooting his 11-year-old son as well as his girlfriend at home in Syracuse, NY, a year ago

A 43-year-old man from upstate New York, gleefully admitted in court Tuesday, to killing his own child and girlfriend with a shotgun was seen smirking and laughing as the charges were read aloud, to the chagrin of the presiding judge as well as family in the public gallery.
David Huff accepting a plea deal which spares him life in prison without possibility of parole admitted to murdering his 11-year-old son, Jeremiah Huff, and his girlfriend, Yeraldith Tschudy, 32, in a brutal shooting inside a Syracuse home on March 17, 2025. 
As Onondaga County Judge Theodore H. Limpert detailed the killings, Huff smiled and chuckled to himself. The judge abruptly stopped proceedings to confront him.
‘You find this funny?’ Judge Limpert asked the defendant.
Huff, still laughing, replied: ‘No, no, it’s a joke stuck in my head… Go on.’

The suspect’s girlfriend Yeraldith Tschudy, [left], 32, was fatally shot at close range with a shotgun inside the Syracuse home in March 2025. Huff also shot his son, Middle school student Jeremiah Huff, right], 11, in the head with the same weapon that night 

The strange exchange between the defendant and the bench reflects the tone of proceedings where the murder suspect, David Huff, appeared cavalier all through. 
Huff ultimately admitted to using a 12-gauge shotgun to kill both victims at close range inside his stepfather’s home on Roney Road on the night of March 17, 2025.
When pressed on the charges, his responses were blunt and detached.
‘Sure,’ Huff said when asked if he had killed Tschudy. ‘That’s what happened.’
Moments later, he dismissed key details about his son’s death, pushing back when the judge said the boy had been shot multiple times, including in the head.
‘Jeremiah was not shot in the head by any means,’ Huff insisted – even as prosecutors maintained that he was.

Huff shocked the courtroom by laughing as the judge read out the details of the murders. When pressed on the charges, his responses were blunt and detached as he admitted his guilt – ‘I’m guilty of all that. Whatever you guys say I’m guilty of’

Judge Limpert made clear during the hearing that Huff had the option to proceed to trial if he disputed the facts.
‘No, we’re not coming back,’ Huff said. ‘I’m guilty of all that. Whatever you guys say I’m guilty of.’
The lack of empathy apparently caused consternation in the courtroom gallery packed with members of the bereaved families.
As Huff laughed through his confession, his older son, who was not present during the killings, was heard shouting at him, ‘You’re f***ing embarrassing yourself. Just speak!’
Turning towards his surviving offspring, Huff instead told the boy that he loved him.
Prosecutors later made clear they had little interest in Huff’s courtroom antics with the Onondaga County prosecutor Rob Moran telling local media : ‘I’m focused on the family. I’m focused on Jeremiah. I’m focused on Ms. Tschudy.
‘I could care less what his reaction to any of this is. I don’t have enough bandwidth to put any time into worrying about his reaction to these things.’
Moran also underscored the brutality of the crime, stating that Jeremiah had indeed been shot in the head suggesting Huff’s denial may reflect the weight of that reality.

The motive for trying to wipe out his family has not been revealed, but the shooting rampage Huff fled the scene. He was arrested [photo], the morning after on March 18, by NY state police after being found walking near the crime scene

The shooting rampage began just after 9:30pm on March 17, 2025. Huff according to court documents, opened fire inside the home, killing both victims and allegedly firing at his stepfather as well.
Jeremiah, a student at Gillette Road Middle School, was remembered in his obituary as an ‘adventurous young boy’ with ‘a heart full of curiosity and a spirit of determination.’
In the moments before the violence, the boy’s mother received a disturbing phone call from him prompting her to dial 911. Jeremiah reportedly was on the phone with his mother when he was shot.

Jeremiah Huff’s mother is no longer with his dad. She called police after receiving a disturbing call from son moments before he shot him. According to the judge, the pre-teen was shot “multiple times” including “once in the head” at close range

Yeraldith Tschudy, 32, was killed alongside her boyfriend’s son in the same brutal shooting inside the home in Syracuse on March 17, 2027

According to the criminal complaint, Huff used a 12-gauge shotgun and fired multiple rounds into Tschudy before turning the gun onto his son.
Huff’s stepfather was also present when the shootings occurred. Prosecutors believe the reason he is not a homicide victim is “either the gun was out of ammunition or the gun misfired.”
By the time police arrived, Huff had already fled, prompting an overnight manhunt across Onondaga County, that ended with the shooter’s capture 16 hours later.
He was arrested around 9:30am the following morning close to the scene.
Prosecutors later revealed Huff had briefly hidden inside Upstate Community General Hospital before reemerging. He was charged with first and second-degree murder as well as criminal possession of a firearm.

The boy’s mother, Samantha Gallup-Peltier, [photo], who was on a call with 11-year-old Jeremiah, was “listening to her son being murdered”

The case dragged on for months as Huff’s legal team explored a potential mental health defense. 
Multiple experts evaluated him to determine whether he could be held criminally responsible.
Defense attorney Shaun Chase acknowledged in court that any mental impairment Huff may have experienced was tied to voluntary intoxication from drugs or alcohol, which does not qualify for legal defense and he was deemed competent to stand trial.
Prosecutors said they still do not know exactly what substances, if any, Huff had taken that night.
Huff pled guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, securing a deal that spares him from a possible life sentence without parole tied to first-degree murder charges. 
He faces a sentence of 40 years to life in prison at sentencing scheduled for late May