Husband And Wife Sentenced To Life In Prison For Charges Related To 2020 Murder Of Wife’s Ex-Husband
Friday, August 14, 2026 - United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), James C. Barnacle, Jr., and Superintendent of the New York State Police, Steven G. James, announced that on August 11 and August 13, 2026, JAMIE AND NICHOLAS ORSINI, respectively, were each sentenced to life in prison by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern for one count of carjacking resulting in death and one count of participating in a conspiracy to commit carjacking in connection with the murder of JAMIE ORSINI’s ex-husband, Steven Kraft. The ORSINIs were convicted following a two-week trial in 2024 before Judge Halpern.
“Justice has now been served in this tragic case,” said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald. “In 2020, Jamie and Nicholas Orisini orchestrated a sophisticated scheme to kill Jamie Orsini’s ex-husband, Steven Kraft, and cover up their crime. Their actions took a life, devastated a family, and left behind years of unanswered questions. Kraft’s body has never been found, and for years, his family has been forced to live with the unimaginable pain and uncertainty of not knowing what happened to their loved one. While no sentence can undo the loss of a life or erase the suffering endured by Kraft’s family, these sentences bring the Kraft family a measure of finality and hold Jamie and Nicholas Orsini accountable for their horrific crimes. Our prosecutors and law enforcement partners will not stop seeking justice for victims, their families, and our communities.”
“The actions taken by Jamie and Nicholas Orsini that resulted in the death of Steven Kraft are a tragic and senseless crime,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. “Our hearts remain with the victims and their families as they confront this profound loss. The FBI is steadfast in its commitment to pursuing violent crime investigations and will continue working closely with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. This investigation was the result of the dedicated work of the FBI Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, whose local and state law enforcement partners play an essential role in bringing violent offenders to justice and ensuring the safety of our communities.
“This week’s sentencings send a strong message that prison is the only future for those who take the lives of others,” said New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James. “We hope these sentencings bring a sense of closure that the defendants will never commit a heinous crime like this again. I commend the dedication of our members, partners at the US Attorney’s Office, and law enforcement colleagues for the justice served in this case.”
According to the Indictment, public court filings, and evidence presented at trial:
In 2020, JAMIE and NICHOLAS ORSINI plotted and executed the murder of JAMIE ORSINI’s ex-husband and the father to two of her children, Steven Kraft, as well as a sophisticated cover-up of their crime. The murder and cover-up involved, among other things, the use of burner phones, the movement of Kraft’s car to a different city, and the destruction and disposal of all physical evidence. Before the murder, the ORSINIs purchased items—such as a 1,000-square-foot tarp and a full-body coverall—to allow them to commit the murder and dispose of evidence, repeatedly practiced “dry runs” for how they would move Kraft’s car, and purchased a “burner phone” to use without law enforcement being able to trace the phone to them. On April 28, 2020, Kraft dropped his children off at the ORSINIs’ home in Beacon, New York. The ORSINIs killed Kraft in their home, taking his car and one of his cellphones. In order to make it look as if Kraft left their home in Beacon alive and was killed elsewhere, NICHOLAS ORSINI drove Kraft’s car into Newburgh, New York, leaving it in a high-crime neighborhood, got rid of Kraft’s cellphone, and used the burner phone to call a taxi to bring him back to Beacon, throwing the burner phone out before getting into the taxi, while JAMIE ORSINI sent text messages to and from NICHOLAS ORSINI’s phone—which he had left at home—to pretend that NICHOLAS ORSINI never left the house that night.
After the murder, the ORSINIs destroyed evidence of their crimes—including Kraft’s body—buying a new burner phone to use while repeatedly driving to and from upstate New York, as well as creating large homemade incinerators. JAMIE ORSINI sent multiple text messages to make it look like she believed that Kraft was still alive, and, having dumped Kraft’s car in Newburgh, when speaking with the police, professed ignorance, while hinting that perhaps something might have happened to Kraft had he gone to Newburgh after leaving her home.
If you believe you have information related to the location of Steven Kraft’s body, please consider reporting using the following link: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/report-crime.
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JAMIE ORSINI, 38, and NICHOLAS ORSINI, 36, both of Amsterdam, New York, were sentenced to life in prison to be followed by five year of supervised release on count one (carjacking resulting in death, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2119(3)) to run concurrently with five years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release on count two (conspiracy to commit carjacking, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371).
Mr. McDonald praised the outstanding work of the FBI and the New York State Police, which also supported the prosecution through trial. He also thanked the Dutchess County District Attorney’s Office, the Ulster County District Attorney’s Office, the City of Beacon Police Department, the Town of Marlborough Police Department, and the City of Newburgh Police Department.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaiya Arroyo, Michael D. Maimin, and Kathryn P. Wheelock are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Shannon Becker.
Contact
Nicholas Biase, Shelby Wratchford
(212) 637-2600
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
