By Jeanne Sager
MONTICELLO — December 24, 2004 – A casual acquaintance allegedly turned deadly in Monticello Tuesday.
Bloodstains and evidence of a crime in Room 114 of the Econo Lodge Motel on Broadway in Monticello sent village police on the search for a body Tuesday morning.
According to police, the blood was discovered by a cleaning person in the room rented out to Daurie Gierisch, 49, who had been residing in the Monticello motel.
A call went out to find Gierisch and his Toyota pick-up.
It was the truck that led police to his body around 2:15 p.m., found lying in the grass 50 feet from the vehicle, which had been parked near the ShortLine bus terminal on Sturgis Road, just minutes from his home.
Police later arrested Monticello resident Kenneth Sullivan, 33, at a relative’s home in the village.
Sullivan County District Attorney Stephen Lungen would not speculate about a motive, saying only that the suspect and the victim were “casually acquainted.”
Sullivan has been charged with second degree murder for the stabbing of Gierisch.
He’s been remanded to Sullivan County Jail without bail. He’s scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday.