GUILTY NY - Vincent Viafore, 46, Newburgh, 19 April 2015 - #1

[eucalyptuz]

More (somewhat gossipy) background on Angelika:

Graswald, in a fit of anger, took a car and emptied her husband's home not only of her belongings, but also many of his, Colvin said.

"She has this angry side of her personality," Colvin said. "That is when I would say her 'Russian was coming out.'"

Colvin said he got a first-hand look at that when, after about a year and a half, their relationship soured.

Graswald, he said, wanted to keep a cat the couple had adopted.

"I said, 'You can't have the cat,'" Colvin said. "And she said, 'Then I will break into your house and take her.'"

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/...elika-graswald-poughkeepsie-profile/26742931/

I can understand the reference to her Baltic heritage. I have known many people from the region and they are often very passionate, but somehow coldly passionate. It just might be that she is telling the truth and the language barrier and the coldness (or matter-of-factness) of her tone created suspicion.

 

[zwiebel]

Strange case and hard to grasp what motive and means police believe she had.

Viafore's ex-wife Suzanne (married 14 years) told media he was 'a great man'.

Even if Graswald really meant what she said about Viafore in her diary, why didn't she just leave him, I wonder? Could it have anything to do with her green card expiring in three years' time? She has won awards for her photographs but it doesn't seem as though she made a living out of it. She was also trying to get a real estate license, so perhaps police see a motive in some kind of property gain, rather than insurance? I believe Viafore is a property owner.

If a small person wanted to tip a big person out of their kayak, I think they'd do it with their boat, rather than try it physically. The impact of a crash would probably leave damage on both kayaks, and if one person ended up in the water and lost an oar, they'd be helpless without help. Police are asking for info from anyone on the water between 4pm and 8pm, so maybe they think there is a gap or long delay in the timeline, before Graswald sought help.

None of the people who have spoken to media have anything really bad to say about her, and many have said very good things. I just don't know about this one but prosecutors are often reluctant to run with no-body cases - they must feel certain they have a good case.

http://news.yahoo.com/ny-woman-volunteered-where-police-believe-she-killed-214112658.html

 

[BrownRice]

This is a question for kayakers since there seems to be a few here.....Is it considered normal and customary to always wear a life vest out in the water?

 

[TTF14]

Strange case and hard to grasp what motive and means police believe she had.

Viafore's ex-wife Suzanne (married 14 years) told media he was 'a great man'.

Even if Graswald really meant what she said about Viafore in her diary, why didn't she just leave him, I wonder? Could it have anything to do with her green card expiring in three years' time? She has won awards for her photographs but it doesn't seem as though she made a living out of it. She was also trying to get a real estate license, so perhaps police see a motive in some kind of property gain, rather than insurance? I believe Viafore is a property owner.

If a small person wanted to tip a big person out of their kayak, I think they'd do it with their boat, rather than try it physically. The impact of a crash would probably leave damage on both kayaks, and if one person ended up in the water and lost an oar, they'd be helpless without help. Police are asking for info from anyone on the water between 4pm and 8pm, so maybe they think there is a gap or long delay in the timeline, before Graswald sought help.

None of the people who have spoken to media have anything really bad to say about her, and many have said very good things. I just don't know about this one but prosecutors are often reluctant to run with no-body cases - they must feel certain they have a good case.

http://news.yahoo.com/ny-woman-volunteered-where-police-believe-she-killed-214112658.html

Maybe she beat him on the head with her oar once he capsized?

 

[SStarr33]

Maybe she beat him on the head with her oar once he capsized?

But do you think she is going to slip and say she did that?

 

[silly1]

Echoing Bunnhop's post above, A few things to know about the Hudson is that it is tidal and in the area of Bannerman's Castle it is narrow and the current tends to increase. Another thing to know is that our current water temp is approximately 50 degrees. There is regular barge traffic heading to and from Albany. There is also an increase in the number of boaters and shore fisherman right now as it is Striper season. It just seems like a really risky and unlikely scenario for someone who was an avid outdoorsman and kayaker. Not to mention that he would have been in violation of boating/personal watercraft law as here in NY you must wear a life vest while on the water from Nov 1 until May 1 if your watercraft is below 21 feet. FWIW, I have been boating on the Hudson for many years and I have never seen anyone on the water in a kayak without a life vest.

 

[SStarr33]

Echoing Bunnhop's post above, A few things to know about the Hudson is that it is tidal and in the area of Bannerman's Castle it is narrow and the current tends to increase. Another thing to know is that our current water temp is approximately 50 degrees. There is regular barge traffic heading to and from Albany. There is also an increase in the number of boaters and shore fisherman right now as it is Striper season. It just seems like a really risky and unlikely scenario for someone who was an avid outdoorsman and kayaker. Not to mention that he would have been in violation of boating/personal watercraft law as here in NY you must wear a life vest while on the water from Nov 1 until May 1 if your watercraft is below 21 feet. FWIW, I have been boating on the Hudson for many years and I have never seen anyone on the water in a kayak without a life vest.

I just went to Google images and searched kayaking on the hudson and there were lots of people without life vests.

ETA, I should mention that most did have them on, but not all.

 

[Inthedetails]

Maybe she beat him on the head with her oar once he capsized?

I don't know if she hit him on the head, but I'm thinking she purposely hampered his attempts to recover after a capsize. Maybe she took his paddle and then paddled away in her kayak, pulling his kayak away from him. I don't know, but I think it was something "passive" like that, rather than active. I think she took advantage of the accident rather than cause it.

Whatever happened, she slipped up big time by saying something incriminating enough to cause her arrest for murder.

 

[TTF14]

But do you think she is going to slip and say she did that?

No, but maybe she first said he wasn't bleeding, then said he was....something like that?

 

[BunnyHop]

This is a question for kayakers since there seems to be a few here.....Is it considered normal and customary to always wear a life vest out in the water?

It is the law to have a life vest for each passenger on any boat.

Mid April on that water is very chilly. Any experienced kayaker would not be out at sundown. They would also be wearing appropriate clothing. I will expound more later.

 

[BunnyHop]

When I first heard this on the news, kayaker is missing, my first thought was; it's very early in the season and that water has to be rough and cold. (remember, this was a few weeks ago)

Here's a few pictures for reference:

Bannermans Island is very close to shore

Notice the following; proper boats, proper gear, pics taken in the same area

(the man on the left is not wearing a vest, but may have one on board.)
They are using sea kayaks. Paddles are long and gangly and IMO it would be very hard to whack someone and cause any real harm as they are light.

A local outfitter-notice their boats (more pics at link)

https://www.hudsonriverexpeditions.com/cold-spring-tours.html

 

[BunnyHop]

Are there two life jackets on her kayak?

https://instagram.com/p/pFauywqIh1/

The blue boat has floatation cushion--no vest
The red boat "may" have a vest tucked under the webbing-it's hard to tell.

These 2 boats are recreational kayaks, they are NOT meant for rough water.
I own one and only use it on the lake in calm water. They are NOT "sea-worthy".
I have seen big white caps in that area. It was getting dark, IMO they had no business being there--it's dangerous.

 

[BunnyHop]

I'm thinking after reading this:

On Friday evening, Mr Caplan told AP that Graswald, an avid photographer, had visited the island on Wednesday to meet with investigators - just a day before she was charged with Viafore's murder.

He added that Graswald was arrested after leaving the island with police. Authorities said she was charged based on 'inconsistencies' in her account of Viafore's disappearance on the fateful night.

In her initial report and later in social media postings, Graswald had described watching Viafore fall into the water after his vessel capsized during their outing near the town of Cornwall-On-Hudson.

She reported that she had been unable to help her fiancé - whom she lived with in Poughkeepsie - and had also fallen into the water. A boater later rescued her, and she was treated for hypothermia.


'She's a very nice person and a hard worker,' he said. 'We're all stunned. She was there with police, and they had asked her to walk around. It seemed they may have had some suspicions about her.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...accident-police-reveal-not-victim-s-body.html

She meets LE at the island, where they probably questioned obvious inconsistencies in her story. Maybe he was drugged or she clobbered him with a rock, pushed his boat out into the river and dumped him under the cover of darkness. Just thinking what might have happened.

 

[gitana1]

It is really hard to see how this played out with the charge being "2nd degree murder" which I believe means that it is not premeditated or planned in advance. That seems to eliminate canoe tampering or life jacket tampering in advance of the pair heading out on the water. Drugging also would seem to be pre-meditated. Maybe he was drunk? If he was under the influence he may have neglected to wear a vest...And she took advantage of his incapacitation and did not help him when he capsized/actively aided capsizing and drowning. Sad however it happened.

There are no charges available for failing to help a person when they're in a life threatening situation, unless possibly, in some states, with particular facts, negligent homicide/manslaughter.

So I;m guessing it's more the latter part of what you said - actively aided his death in some way.

<modsnip>
There are plenty of men into extreme sports or regular sporting activities like this who are responsible and take care of themselves and their safety. Importantly, a friend of his says he is not that type of "man":

Police say that Viafore wasn&#8217;t wearing a vest. But his friend Kimberly Popovich said risky behavior like that was uncharacteristic of him.
&#8220;Even though he had that side of him that was kind of an adrenaline person, he always took precautions about himself,&#8221; she told the Times. &#8220;When this story came out that he was on the Hudson at 7:30 at night in those choppy waters, 30 degrees, it just didn&#8217;t jibe with me.&#8221; http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...ame-a-murder-mystery-on-the-hudson/?tid=sm_fb

TY
Where does premeditated come in.. or does it

Not with the charges here. It would come in typically with first degree murder charges. But even in cases where LE has evidence of premeditation, they sometimes charge with second degree if they feel some on a jury may be swayed to believe the premeditation evidence is ambiguous.

So, they will charge with a lesser crime to ensure a conviction. It's a strategy and not a bad one!

 

[gitana1]

Under New York criminal law, murder in the second degree is one of several forms of homicide, or conduct which causes the death of a person. Other forms of homicide include first-degree murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and abortion.

http://statelaws.findlaw.com/new-york-law/new-york-second-degree-murder-laws.html

a person commits second-degree murder in one of five ways: (1) with the intent to cause the death of another person, he or she causes the death of such person or a third person; (2) under circumstances demonstrating a "depraved indifference to human life," the defendant "recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person, and thereby causes the death of another person"; (3) acting alone or in concert with others, the defendant commits or attempts to commit a specified felony (including robbery, burglary, kidnapping, arson, rape, and sexual abuse) and, in the course of and in furtherance of such crime or of immediate flight therefrom, he or she causes the death of a non-participant; (4) under circumstances demonstrating a "depraved indifference to human life," a defendant 18 years old or more "recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of serious physical injury or death" to a person less than 11 years old and causes the death of such person; or (5) while in the course of committing a specified crime such as rape, a criminal sexual act or sexual abuse, a defendant 18 years old or more intentionally causes the death of a person less than 14 years old.

Thank you. I am guessing it is close to the kind of evidence they had against Justin Ross Harris in the Georgia case. But in that case it was actually a felony murder first degree charge which is not available in NY.

Does anybody please have a MSM link about the alleged diary with mentions of rough sex/threesomes? The one linked to above is behind a pay wall.

Thinking more about that rumored diary and whether this was more a crime of opportunity than a premeditated murder. April 19 was a Sunday. Perhaps there had been a BBQ/gathering of friends with drinks and VV (and AG?) might have been a bit drunk. Crazy spontaneous idea to head out in kayaks for a dusk paddle - dutch courage leading to VV not putting on a lifejacket. She's harboring dark thoughts about him (and his fetishes) and when he capsizes and is floundering in deep, cold water she doesn't help. Yes, it's murder...but not premeditated murder. And maybe it seems she's happy he's gone because it really is hard to explain her online behaviour...

Failing to help is never murder, although it can be another type of homicide if there is a legal obligation to act. In this case I don't think there would've been.

 

[Inthedetails]

Snipped:

Failing to help is never murder, although it can be another type of homicide if there is a legal obligation to act. In this case I don't think there would've been.

Thank you for that clarification. I was thinking that a deliberate failure to act was what happened. But now I know it's not.

Hmmm...what in the world happened on that river?

 

[wfgodot]

---
Wes Gottlock, 70, whose West Windsor, New York, home overlooks the Hudson River, says he and his wife were looking toward Bannerman's Island on the night of Viafore's disappearance. It was from that island that Graswald has told investigators the pair pushed off into the night.

"All I can say is that we did see them on the island that evening, through our telescope from our house," Gottlock tells PEOPLE.

Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said at a Thursday news conference that Graswald’s case will be presented to a grand jury. Gottlock said he was called to testify before a grand jury convened for Graswald's case on Monday.
---

They saw something interesting, methinks.

More:

Suspect's Arrest for Kayak Drowning Murder of Fiancée 'Absolute Surprise': Ex-Father-in-Law

 

[SStarr33]

They saw something interesting, methinks.

More:

Suspect's Arrest for Kayak Drowning Murder of Fiancée 'Absolute Surprise': Ex-Father-in-Law

thanks for finding that. I posted about them earlier and someone challenged it but I could not find where I had first read about the folks that saw them go out on the water.

 

[Inthedetails]

thanks for finding that. I posted about them earlier and someone challenged it but I could not find where I had first read about the folks that saw them go out on the water.

Perhaps her blunder that got her arrested was a statement that contradicts what the telescope man saw.??

JMO

 

[kimi_SFC]

This was linked within the People Magazine article:

New York State Police Newsroom: UPDATE: State Police make arrest in missing kayaker case
https://www.nyspnews.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=45184



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