GUILTY NY - Vincent Viafore, 46, Newburgh, 19 April 2015 - #2

[LinasK]

Well if I watched my fiance drown I wouldn't be doing cartwheels on FB days later.

Another thing in common with murder "suspect" Amanda Knox, whom I still think is guilty! Jodi Arias preferred headstands in the interrogation room...

 

[LinasK]

Grieving is a personal and highly individual experience. Everyone's experience of grief is different and produces different feelings.

And that's what Casey Anthony's Defense Teams mantra was. Not buying it!!:snooty: Normal innocent people don't act so bizarre( cartwheels/headstands/handstands, buying pizza, having sex, buying lingerie) soon after the death of someone significant in their lives.

 

[LinasK]

Absolutely true. Like I said, if I was on a jury I could not convict her. But even if I watched my worst enemy drown I would be shaken. This is a man she supposedly loved and intended to marry. She watched him die and she is giddy. Happy even. Could she be just "different"? Sure. But highly unlikely. I couldn't convict her - but people are angry, hurt and distrustful of her. And I agree with them. And he is not here to defend himself.

I could convict her. You haven't even seen a fraction of the evidence they have against her. She wanted him dead, and she achieved it by setting him up. She displays consciousness of guilt much like OJ Simpson, Scott Peterson, Amanda Knox, Casey Anthony, and Jodi Arias in her post-death behaviors.

 

[LinasK]

Ms. Graswald tried to explain what many viewed as the bizarre, joyful behavior she displayed in the days after Mr. Viafore’s drowning, such as videos on Facebook of her doing cartwheels. “I never liked crying in public,” she said. “That’s just not me. I’d much rather put on a happy face and that’s what I did.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/07/n...s-kayak-death-denies-she-killed-him.html?_r=1

Ohhh, that's just like Darlie Routier too- who killed her sons, then sprayed silly string on their graves!

 

[LinasK]

Death by misadventure. Drop the charges unless one can indict the Hudson itself for manslaughter.

BBM. That's as irrational a thought as "guns don't kill people, people kill people"!

 

[wfgodot]

BBM. That's as irrational a thought as "guns don't kill people, people kill people"!

The intent was rhetorical.

 

[BunnyHop]

GOSHEN - The woman accused of murdering her fiancé during a Hudson River kayaking trip is scheduled to appear in court today, Thursday.

Angelika Graswald allegedly admitted to tampering with Vincent Viafore’s kayak during an April 19 trip to Bannerman Island, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. The 35-year-old Poughkeepsie woman has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The American Bar Association defines a status conference as a pre-trial hearing that helps a judge establish a “time frame for concluding all pre-trial activities.” Judges may also set a tentative trial date.

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/crime/2015/11/11/graswald-due-court-thursday/75591620/

Was this released before?

Viafore, who was not wearing a life-jacket, had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.066.

 

[BunnyHop]

Today's hearing is meant to keep all parties informed about what's next. She remains in the Orange County Jail with bail set at $9 million. Her murder trial is tentatively set for next spring.

http://westchester.news12.com/news/...ngelika-graswald-expected-in-court-1.11115763

 

[BunnyHop]

VIDEO: Graswald gave DNA swab after court hearing

Angelika Graswald, accused of murdering her fiancé during a kayaking trip on the Hudson River, voluntarily gave a DNA swab to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office today.

“We voluntarily provided a buccal swab so they could compare my client’s DNA to some evidence,”

Some items of evidence submitted to the DA’s office had a “Jane Doe” –or unknown female -- profile, said assistant district attorney Julie Mohl.

Mohl did not say what those items of evidence were.

Portale had agreed before the hearing to allow Graswald to provide the swab. In court, he wanted the record to reflect exactly what items of evidence her DNA would be compared to.

“We asked for consent to compare it to the evidence,” Mohl said. “I’m not sure what the issue is.”

She’s due back in court on Dec. 21.

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/...d-gave-dna-swab-after-court-hearing/75642116/

 

[BunnyHop]

GOSHEN - The woman charged with killing her fiancé as they kayaked on the Hudson River was back in Orange County Court on Thursday morning, and prosecutors will get a DNA sample from her to compare with DNA found on evidence.

On Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Julie Mohl told Judge Robert Freehill that after discussions, the defense agreed to allow investigators to take a cheek swab from Graswald for DNA testing. Previous testing of case evidence returned a "Jane Doe" DNA profile, and prosecutors want to compare that profile with Graswald's.

Portale asked to be present while the sample is taken. Freehill granted his request.

http://www.recordonline.com/article/20151112/NEWS/151119778

 

[LinasK]

GOSHEN - The woman accused of murdering her fiancé during a Hudson River kayaking trip is scheduled to appear in court today, Thursday.

Angelika Graswald allegedly admitted to tampering with Vincent Viafore’s kayak during an April 19 trip to Bannerman Island, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. The 35-year-old Poughkeepsie woman has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The American Bar Association defines a status conference as a pre-trial hearing that helps a judge establish a “time frame for concluding all pre-trial activities.” Judges may also set a tentative trial date.

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/crime/2015/11/11/graswald-due-court-thursday/75591620/

Was this released before?

Yes, it was mentioned in the 20/20 episode. I still think she enticed him to drink, while she probably abstained. I think she set up his death.

 

[BunnyHop]

I didn't know if they had released his blood level.

Wonder why they requested DNA.

 

[Julpal]

As a kayaker, I have one extreme curiosity. How the hades could she flip him over? Especially without flipping out herself??? Even if he was drunk, it just doesn't make sense (and actually that could make it much more difficult with him being a dead weight so to speak). And even if it is by some minute amount possible, just doesn't seem like someone would plan to do it that way, you know? Certainly would have to be very close to him. Very close. He is much larger than her, a fight would certainly ensue. In my mind it is just not logical. If anything, he fell out himself with no help from her, and perhaps she took advantage of the situation. But I don't think it was premeditated I really just don't see it.

 

[LinasK]

As a kayaker, I have one extreme curiosity. How the hades could she flip him over? Especially without flipping out herself??? Even if he was drunk, it just doesn't make sense (and actually that could make it much more difficult with him being a dead weight so to speak). And even if it is by some minute amount possible, just doesn't seem like someone would plan to do it that way, you know? Certainly would have to be very close to him. Very close. He is much larger than her, a fight would certainly ensue. In my mind it is just not logical. If anything, he fell out himself with no help from her, and perhaps she took advantage of the situation. But I don't think it was premeditated I really just don't see it.

I'm not suggesting she flipped him over, but I think she picked the time to go kayaking and the day knowing the weather/water conditions, the path they took, knowing no drain plug, enticed him to drink, knowing he had no life-preserver and she did, and she delayed calling 911 for help for him until it was too late. I think she set him up. She didn't like their sex life and she was passive-aggressive and probably also wanted his life insurance money.

 

[Hoosgirl]

They also revealed another potential motive in the show, in addition to the insurance: that he wanted to call off their engagement. But I am still stuck on how she could have flipped his kayak. Or, as you said, did he capsize on his own and she just took advantage? The whole flipping herself out when the rescue boat came is just so hinky.

 

[JerseyGirl]

She’s due back in court on Dec. 21.

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/...d-gave-dna-swab-after-court-hearing/75642116/

http://www.people.com/article/kayaker-fiancee-accused-murder-undergo-dna-test

 

[Hope4More]

They also revealed another potential motive in the show, in addition to the insurance: that he wanted to call off their engagement. But I am still stuck on how she could have flipped his kayak. Or, as you said, did he capsize on his own and she just took advantage? The whole flipping herself out when the rescue boat came is just so hinky.

That one is easy. She'd be hard pressed to flip his boat on perfectly still water with his consent, and even then the odds are she'd flip herself instead.

On wind-waved waters moving downstream at a good clip, mid-stream, her own dexterity reduced by cold (no wetsuits, mitts/gloves), and both paddling without skirts (water coming in = more difficult to control)? Not just unlikely, but close to impossible.

As for throwing herself in, capsizing herself. One cannot readily throw oneself into white water from a kayak. It is theoretically possible she deliberately capsized her kayak, but to know that with any degree of confidence a witness would have to be very close by.

She could just as easily flipped at a time only later thought odd because of other cues. She also was unprepared and unqualified to be on the river that day, given the conditions. I'm surprised, frankly, that she didn't die too.




edited to change thought about the impossibility of tossing oneself into white water from a kayak. Typically one tries to remain IN, and though I've stood my kayak on end in holes (enders) and gone over waterfalls and run big water backwards, all for fun, it occurs to me it never occurred to me to try throwing myself overboard, so to speak.

Sit on the floor, legs fully extended in front of you, and imagine you are sitting in a kayak; the cockpit, a full 360 oval, comes up to your waist, and you're getting tossed around by waves.

Getting out on purpose? Squirmy, awkward,,difficult, and definitely obvious.

 

[Hope4More]

So he was more than impaired, less than intoxicated by NY standards?

 

[RickshawFan]

I evidently lost my original comments on the kayak flip, so I'm having to start over. I believe it's very possible to create a drowning accident with a kayak.
1) she had evidently swamped his boat by removing the plug. This means this was not the kind of boat with sealed bulkheads. Dangerous, IMO, but common in recreational boats for puttering around in. It's the kind you buy at Dick's. It's definitely not the kind of kayak you take into a big river. In this kind of boat, almost all flotation is lost when this happens, and he could pretty much have floated right out if impaired. However, when properly plugged, this kayak type is difficult to flip because it's designed for novices and generally has a broad hull.
2) she could easily have asked for his help and tipped his kayak towards her; she wouldn't have had to flip it all the way over. In fact, she could have asked for a kiss, moved her kayak away from his just as he reached for her, enough for him to tip his boat over or at least swamp it. Once he's out of the boat, he's toast, 'cos he doesn't have a PFD. She could also have pushed his boat away from him with her paddle.
3) she could have shoved his paddle out of his hands and into the water. A novice will reach for a paddle (or even a water bottle that's fallen in) and tip the boat over. You certainly wouldn't want to be stuck out in the Hudson without a paddle. A mindful kayaker would have a spare paddle or a paddle leash.
4) she could have promised to hold onto his boat (in its swamped condition) while he went after the paddle/her water bottle/a camera. It's not at all difficult to get out of a swamped recreational tubby boat. She could then have pushed his boat away from him.

By the way, I once got out into the middle of a lake and began laughing so hard, I tipped my kayak over. Surprise! Lol.

 

[RickshawFan]

Another way an "accident" could have occurred with him going overboard..... He stood up to pee over the side, and she gave him a little shove. She might even have encouraged him to do such a stupid thing. Then she just nudged his kayak away.