Charlene Childers today is a New York state prisoner serving a 28-year sentence for orchestrating the October 2018 shooting deaths of her ex-partner Joshua Niles and his girlfriend Amber Washburn in Sodus, New York. She pleaded guilty in April 2019 to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, was sentenced that June, and lost her appeal in 2021.1NY Courts. People v. Childers, 193 AD3d 1358
The Plea and the 28-Year Sentence
Childers was originally charged with second-degree murder alongside her husband, former Sunray, Texas police chief Timothy Dean. On April 16, 2019, shortly before their joint trial was set to begin, she entered a plea agreement. She pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies, and agreed to testify against Dean.2Democrat and Chronicle. Charlene Childers Guilty in Sodus Double Homicide
On June 27, 2019, Wayne County Judge Daniel Barrett sentenced her to a combined 28 years in state prison followed by five years of probation.313WHAM. Judge Laments Senseless and Tragic Murder, Sentences Childers to 28 Years
At the hearing, Barrett called the case “the most senseless and tragic murder I’ve ever handled.” He described Dean as Childers’ “puppet” and told her that asking Dean to commit the killings was like “asking Timothy Dean to go out to dinner, and you knew he would say yes.” He said her testimony at Dean’s trial had been “cavalier and unemotional.” Childers told the court, “What I did was wrong and I regret it every single day.”4Democrat and Chronicle. Charlene Childers Sentencing in Sodus Murder
The 2021 Appeal Was Denied
Childers appealed her conviction to the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, Fourth Department. On April 30, 2021, the court unanimously affirmed the judgment in People v. Charlene Childers. The sentence and conviction were left in place without modification.1NY Courts. People v. Childers, 193 AD3d 1358 She remains incarcerated.
What She Was Sentenced For
On the evening of October 22, 2018, Joshua Niles, 28, and Amber Washburn, 24, were shot and killed in the driveway of their home on Carlton Street in Sodus, a small town in Wayne County. Niles was standing near his truck when the shooter opened fire. Washburn arrived moments later in her car with the couple’s four-year-old son, Josh Jr., in the backseat, and the gunman shot her in the head as she tried to reverse to escape. Niles was killed trying to hide beneath his truck. Josh Jr. was physically unharmed but witnessed both killings.5Oxygen. Tim Dean and Charlene Childers Plot to Kill Josh Niles and Amber Washburn
Childers and Niles were former partners and shared two children. Their relationship had deteriorated into a bitter custody fight.6Spectrum News. Sodus Homicides: Charlene Childers and Joshua Niles By 2018 she had married Dean. In May of that year, both were arrested in Texas and charged with injury to a child after Dean was filmed striking his young daughter; Dean resigned as police chief.7ABC 7 Amarillo. Ex-Wife of Sodus Homicide Victim and Her Current Husband in Police Custody In August 2018, a judge granted Niles full custody of the two children he shared with Childers. Prosecutors said that ruling set the murder plot in motion. Before his death, Niles told a friend, “If something happens to me, look at her.”813WHAM. Sodus Murders: The Family Left Behind
Childers was in Texas during the shootings. Dean drove from the Texas panhandle to upstate New York to carry them out. He was arrested about a week later. Childers was arrested in Wayne County during the first week of November 2018.9Spectrum News. Arrest in Sodus Double Homicide
Where Her Co-Defendants Stand Now
Timothy Dean went to trial in May 2019 with Childers testifying against him. He was convicted on all six felony counts and, on August 2, 2019, Judge Barrett sentenced him to life in prison without parole on the first-degree murder charge, with additional consecutive terms.10Democrat and Chronicle. Tim Dean Sentenced in Sodus Shooting In mid-2025, the Fourth Department partially modified the judgment, reversing and dismissing the two second-degree murder counts and one weapons count, but affirming the first-degree murder conviction. Dean remains in prison serving life without parole.11FindLaw. People v. Timothy Dean
A third conspirator, Bron Bohlar, a police officer in Dean’s former department, admitted the killings had been planned inside Dean’s garage in Texas with Childers present, and said he had rented the vehicle Dean used.1213WHAM. Second Suspect Pleaded Guilty in Sodus Double Murder Case Bohlar pleaded guilty to second-degree conspiracy in February 2019 and was sentenced to one to three years in state prison.13CNY Central. Judge Laments Senseless and Tragic Murder, Sentences Childers to 28 Years He was paroled from Woodbourne Correctional Facility in mid-November 2020 after serving about one year and four months, and was placed on community supervision in Monroe County with conditions that include a firearms prohibition.14Democrat and Chronicle. Bron Bohlar Released From Prison Two Years After Sodus Homicide
The Children
At sentencing, Judge Barrett said the “worst part of this entire situation” was the impact on the children left behind.15ABC 7 Amarillo. Judge Laments Senseless and Tragic Murder, Sentences Childers to 28 Years The two older children Childers shared with Niles were placed with Niles’ sister, Nicole Gunkel, who began a legal effort to retain custody against Childers.813WHAM. Sodus Murders: The Family Left Behind Josh Jr., four years old at the time of the killings, was placed with Amber Washburn’s parents. He was diagnosed with autism and developmental delays requiring specialized care.16GoFundMe. Helping Amber’s Love Live On