Funeral held for volunteer firefighter killed at New Year's Eve party in Orange County

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Friday, January 8, 2016
Man killed at Orange County house party
Marcus Solis has more from Pine Bush.

MIDDLETOWN, New York (WABC) -- A funeral will be held in Orange County Friday for a volunteer firefighter murdered on New Year's Day.

Wake services were held Thursday in Middletown for Justin Speights.

The 20-year-old was stabbed to death while trying to break up a fight at a New Year's Eve party in Pine Bush.

Around 100 people were at the party, but so far there have been no arrests. A $10,000 reward is offered in the case.

Speights was a well-liked member of the volunteer fire district in Silver Lake in neighboring Sullivan County, where he also worked part-time for the district.

Speights graduated two years ago from Pine Bush High School where he was an honor student and standout football player. He was also a volunteer firefighter with Silver Lake Fire Department.

"He was a great kid, quiet, helped anybody out. He was himself at home, fun, jokester," said the victim's mother Lisa Speights.

"Everybody loved him. Everybody took him serious because he took his job very serious as a volunteer firefighter," said Jeff Jacques of the Silver Lake Fire District.


(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)