Left inset: Damon Foy (Ulster County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Alberta Dale (Facebook). Background: The apartment building where Alberta Dale was found dismembered inside Damon Foy’s apartment (News 12 New York).
A New York man has pleaded guilty to killing his former girlfriend, cutting up her body and concealing her remains in a carry-on suitcase. The suitcase contained her severed head, along with a flower.
As detectives searched his Kerhonkson apartment after Alberta Dale, 44, disappeared in April 2024, Damon Foy, 50, reportedly whispered, “She’s in there,” according to court documents and Ulster County prosecutors.
“I killed her,” Foy told police, prosecutors said in court filings reviewed by Law&Crime.
Foy pleaded guilty to murder last week, nearly two years after authorities found Dale’s remains inside his apartment on April 3, 2024. Her cellphone and other belongings had been discovered along the roadside the previous day, shortly after her family reported her missing and requested a welfare check at Foy’s home.
Investigators believe Dale was killed between March 31 and April 1, 2024. Foy told police that tensions had escalated after the couple separated, including one confrontation that ended with Dale forcing him out of the apartment.
Prosecutors also pointed to Foy’s alleged history of domestic violence against Dale. One prior incident involved a firearm and resulted in a stay-away order of protection that remained in effect when Dale died.
During a police interview, Foy said he loved Dale but accused her of repeatedly manipulating him and taking advantage of the legal system. Court filings reviewed by Law&Crime quote him describing his anger at being ordered to leave the home he considered his own.
Foy also described the emotional impact of being told to leave by Dale, saying he felt he had nowhere else to go, according to the court records.
Officers first visited Foy’s apartment on April 1, 2024, while looking for Dale, but initially found only her unattended vehicle. Police returned the next day to speak with Foy after Dale’s cellphone was located.
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Investigators later found a suitcase containing Dale’s remains inside a closet. When officers moved it to the floor, they noted that it seemed unusually heavy for its size and obtained a warrant to search it.
After shining a flashlight on the bag, officers immediately saw what appeared to be dried blood on its exterior, prosecutors said.
“Officers opened the defendant’s suitcase and found Alberta Dale’s partial dismembered remains, including her severed head,” prosecutors stated. The rest of her body was not recovered during the search, according to court documents.
Bone and tissue fragments were found throughout the apartment. Investigators also located pruning shears, a serrated knife, blood evidence and an ax at the residence.
According to prosecutors, Dale had ended her relationship with Foy. She had also previously told a crime victims unit that if she ever disappeared, Foy would be responsible for killing her, court filings stated.
As part of his plea agreement, Foy is expected to receive a sentence of 23 years to life in state prison. The proposed term is two years below the maximum sentence of 25 years to life, prosecutors said.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Liz Culmone-Mills told the Daily Freeman that Dale’s relatives supported the agreement.
“The District Attorney’s Office would not be making this recommendation were it not for Alberta Dale’s family,” Culmone-Mills said.
Foy is scheduled to appear for sentencing on Dec. 16.
