Both men charged in Roger Pitt’s murder have now pleaded guilty

CAIRO―The two men charged in the grisly killing of 69-year-old Roger Pitt will not be heading to trial now that both have pleaded guilty.

Rodney Pitt, 46, appeared in Greene County Court on Tuesday, rescinding his initial plea of not guilty and admitting to killing his father on his Old State Highway 145 property last fall.

Drew Tyler White, 24, the boyfriend of the victim’s granddaughter, withdrew his not guilty plea in July.

Both men are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Charles M. Tailleur on November 10 and face up to life in prison.

White admitted to holding down Roger Pitt while Rodney Pitt slashed his throat with a box cutter. They then buried his body in a shallow grave, according to Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione.

It happened during the morning hours on or between October 16 and October 18.

According to the Greene County District Attorney’s Office, White and Rodney Pitt devised a plan to kill Roger Pitt after an argument over bills that were owed. Roger Pitt also apparently disapproved of White’s relationship with his minor granddaughter.  

Prosecutors say Rodney Pitt and White cleaned up and concealed blood inside the home and destroyed the victim’s social security card, driver’s license and other identification from his wallet. The pair then allegedly removed the license plates from Roger Pitt’s 1987 Mercedes Benz and hid them within a wall of the home.

Roger Pitt was initially reported as a missing person after his sister made several calls inquiring as to the whereabouts of her brother. His remains were found on his property by the Greene County Sheriff’s Office on November 26 during the execution of a search warrant.

According to the sheriff’s office, statements given by Rodney Pitt and Tania Pitt during the missing person investigation conflicted with information obtained by investigators.

Charged that same morning were Rodney Pitt and White, as was Rodney Pitt’s wife, 43-year-old Tania Pitt. They all lived alongside the victim on his one-acre lot.

Tania Pitt is not believed by authorities to have actively participated in the murder. She is, however, accused of assisting her husband and White in bringing her father-in-law’s Mercedes to Calvetta's scrap yard on Cauterskill Road in Catskill on or around October 20.

Both White and Rodney Pitt have now pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, second-degree conspiracy, tampering with physical evidence and concealment of a human corpse.

Tania Pitt, who pleaded not guilty after her arrest, is charged with tampering with physical evidence, sixth-degree conspiracy and third-degree perjury. She is currently released pending future court appearances.