Death on the River

by Diane Fanning

  * * *

  Portale came out swinging with his defense strategy, alleging that his client might be in jail illegally because of the state’s inconsistency: he’d heard that she was indicted on May 5, then that she had not on May 8. He claimed the district attorney had first said murder in the second degree, then said it wasn’t.

  He demanded disclosure from the prosecution and filed a request for a bail hearing with Judge Robert Freehill. On Wednesday, May 13, the parties gathered before the judge. Angelika stood at the defense table with three men: her lead attorney, Richard Portale; the balding, paler second attorney, Jeffrey Chartier; and the tall, beefy, brush-cut-topped forensic scientist Michael Archer, who loomed over the tiny defendant.

  Chartier had worked in Westchester County as an assistant district attorney for ten years, before switching to private practice at the Law Offices of Murray Richman in 2007. He was best known for his defense of William Rockefeller, an engineer who fell asleep on a Metro-North Railroad train on December 1, 2013, causing it to jump the tracks. The resulting accident resulted in four deaths and more than seventy injuries. With Chartier’s defense, focusing on the engineer’s sleep apnea and a lack of proper track maintenance, no charges were brought against Rockefeller.

  But Michael Archer appeared to be the defense’s best weapon. His credentials included degrees in psychology, biology, forensic science, religious studies, and systemic theology. He also had teaching experience at Marist College in Poughkeepsie and at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh.

  In the forensic science field, he’d worked on cases with well-known experts Dr. Henry Lee and Dr. Michael Baden. The case that brought him to prominence in his field was his role as lead forensic scientist for the defense team in the trial of Joran van der Sloot, charged with the murder of Natalee Holloway. During the case, Archer said, “There is no DNA or forensic evidence, there are no confessions, and there is no body. In the time Joran was with Natalee, it would be impossible for him to have killed her and disposed of her without leaving a trace. I am certain Joran did not kill Natalee Holloway.” The judge agreed with Archer, and Archer was there for Joran’s release from jail. Unfortunately, he was now free to kill again, and he did. His murder of Stephany Flores Ramirez in 2010 resulted in a twenty-eight-year sentence in the prisons of Peru.

  Now, at the prosecution’s table, Assistant District Attorney Julie Mohl presented the state’s case to the judge. She said that Angelika had told the detectives that “it felt good knowing … [Vince] would die.” Her actions, Mohl said, proved this when she waited until Vince was underwater—a full twenty minutes after he capsized—before calling nine-one-one. “She stated that she tampered with the victim’s kayak … she knew it would contribute to his death,” Mohl added. “She felt trapped and it was her only way out.” Mohl argued that Angelika was also motivated by greed, pointing to the life insurances policies. “She spoke to people about what she would do with the money,” Mohl claimed.

  Judge Freehill set bail at a staggering $3 million cash—an impossible amount for Angelika to raise. Between an online defense fund and her family and friends in Latvia scraping together all they could, she’d raised $120,000. A bail that high was too far a goal.

  Alarm bells blared for Portale. He could not believe that he was hearing of this so-called confession two weeks after his client’s arrest. “I’m skeptical of the statements,” he said in a press conference after the hearing. He alleged that the language barrier was an issue in her interview with detectives and questioned whether her comments were voluntary. “She’s very confident sounding and so even if she doesn’t know what you’re saying, she’ll answer in an affirmative tone,” Portale told reporters. As for her actions after the incident, he insisted that cultural differences had caused her to behave in a manner that appeared bizarre to Americans.

  That same day, at 11:00 am, police recovered a male body from the Hudson River near a boathouse owned by Marist College. Vince’s family and friends were torn between hope and dread. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday morning.

  However, authorities soon released the news that it was not Vince’s body. They did not release the identity of the dead man, nor would they give reporters any information about his age or ethnicity.

  In Vince’s circle, hope died another death and prayers went heavenwards to plead for the recovery of his body.

  Ten long days later, their prayers were answered.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  On May 23, a short distance south of Bannerman Island, deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department lined the Hudson River at West Point U.S. Military Academy, keeping guard during the graduation ceremony for the class of 2015. A private boat glided along the water, its occupants enjoying a beautiful sunlit day. As the boaters neared the Cornwall Country Club, they stumbled upon a disturbing sight—a body floating facedown on the surface of the river. They rushed back to the law enforcement contingent at West Point and reported their gruesome discovery. The deputies kept watch until the state troopers arrived.

  The body was pulled onto the dock at the country club. The deceased was a male, and the clothing he wore was very similar to what Vince Viafore had been wearing when he disappeared.

  Senior Investigator Moscato felt a measure of relief at this discovery, for he knew the family would have a modicum of comfort now that they could bury Vince’s body. The lingering belief in the possibility of a happy outcome had worn thin and grown fragile, but now it was crushed beneath the iron heel of fate. “I hated dashing the last bit of hope,” Moscato reflected.

  Echoing his sentiments, Mary Ann Viafore told CBS that the recovery of her son’s body had filled her with conflicting emotions: “Sad that there was no hope. And happy that at least we found him and can bring him home.”

  Sean Von Clauss was devastated. He hadn’t wanted to accept the reality of Vince’s death, but once the body was found he could deny it no longer. Still, it didn’t make sense. “Vinny had no malice towards anyone!” He contacted a medical professional to learn more about hypothermia, seeking to understand the last moments of his friend’s life. “He told me that probably after four minutes in the water, Vinny started to lose motor skills. He said your lungs collapse after ten minutes in that temperature. It gives me chills just thinking about it.”

  On Tuesday, May 26, the first workday after the Memorial Day weekend, a medical examiner confirmed the identity of the body found on the Hudson River as that of 46-year-old Vincent Viafore.

  That same day, the grand jury of Orange County handed down an indictment accusing Angelika Graswald of murder in the second degree. She also faced a second charge of manslaughter.

  In a statement regarding the indictment, Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said that Angelika had “yanked the drain plug from Viafore’s kayak” and “moved the paddle away from him as he was struggling to stay afloat.”

  Portale mocked the charges, alleging that the accusation about the paddle was nothing but wishful thinking. He added that the removal of the plug would have had no impact on the vessel’s buoyancy.

  However, the state police did test their theory in multiple weather conditions, including videotaped evaluations under the exact conditions Vince had faced on April 19. They obtained the same model kayak as the one used by Vince and found a person of the same size to paddle. In calm water with the plug in place, the kayak did not take in any water. However, the kayak missing the plug took on water both in calm water and in tumultuous situations, without fail. Within eight to twelve minutes, the weight of the water in the vessel would cause it to submerge, regardless of the roughness of the sea.

  * * *

  That Friday, Angelika appeared in the Orange County Courthouse for her arraignment. Her hands were locked together in front of her body with handcuffs, her skin pale against the unflattering orange jumpsuit. Her long blond tresses were bound up in a bun. Her face betrayed no emotion. She uttered not a word as she stood between her lawyers, Richard Porta
le and Jeffrey Chartier.

  Portale spoke for his client, submitting her not guilty plea to both charges. After the arraignment, he spoke to reporters: “We expect to see that this was accidental drowning, hypothermia, and possible acute alcoholic intoxication. I think it’s pretty clear that they were drinking … at least had a couple of beers.” Regarding the two charges of murder and manslaughter, he said, “Logically, a person can’t commit the same act both intentionally and recklessly. [The prosecution is] … trying to fit a square peg into a round hole to make a homicide out of what is an accidental drowning.” He added, “Miss Graswald is a victim here.”

  Since the last court date, the defense team had added an additional member, John Fleming, a retired Detective First Grade in the Intelligence Division. Prior to his work there, he’d gained investigative experience in the 1980s and ’90s working on homicide and robbery squads in the South Bronx and Harlem.

  * * *

  The McHoul Funeral Home in Hopewell Junction announced the funeral arrangements on June 9 in an obituary statement that began: “Vincent A. Viafore, a Poughkeepsie resident, was tragically taken from us on April 19, 2015. He was 46 years young.”

  The tribute continued with a short biography, followed by a more intimate portrait of the deceased: “He loved the Hudson River Valley and enjoyed running the Walkway on a regular basis while participating in various billiard and volleyball leagues, as well. He especially enjoyed spending time with his family and friends and had a very close relationship with his nephew, Michael.”

  The list of surviving family members included his ex-wife Suzanne but made no mention of his fiancée who was now sitting behind bars, charged with his murder. The announcement requested that news and media outlets not attend the services, out of respect to Vince’s family.

  On the day of the funeral, the prosecutors and defense attorneys stood before Judge Robert Freehill’s bench. Freehill ordered both parties to refrain from speaking to the media or sharing any aspects of the case. This gag order was intended to limit publicity about developments and avoid polluting the jury pool. Despite the judge’s intention, the silence didn’t last long.

  * * *

  In many ways, Mary Ann Viafore remained oblivious to her surroundings at the funeral, numb from the pain, but she was aware enough to be shocked and warmed by the turnout for her son’s service at St. Martin de Porres. She was surprised and overwhelmed when hundreds of people filled every seat in the pews and kept coming, stacking up between the pews and the back wall of the sanctuary. Her sorrow and pain were wrapped in a comforting blanket of love.

  Bishop Dominick Lagonegro officiated at the mass. Laura Rice, in her eulogy, remembered her brother Vince as a “fun-loving” and bighearted brother who never hesitated to give a homeless person a few dollars or interrupt his day to take a little girl to get her bike fixed. “He tried to make everyone happy,” she said. “Vinny will be missed every day and will never be forgotten. Remember Vinny enjoyed life every day to the fullest and would want us to do the same.” She remembered his passion for volleyball, pool, and running. He also loved to cook and had mastered the art of smoked ribs—his “signature dish.” She thanked Vince’s large circle of friends, calling them “amazing.” Laura ended her speech by saying, “From tragedy, I feel we need to find something good to help us go on. Without all of you, we never would have been able to continue moving forward.” She urged his friends to do what Vince would want them all to do: “Let’s celebrate his life.” The audience greeted those words with an enthusiastic round of applause.

  The solemn ritual of departure from the church to the waiting cars commenced, with the family members bound for the hearse. The procession traveled through Poughkeepsie, circling around multiple roundabouts, gliding past the stately grounds of Vassar College. The first vehicles turned onto La Grange and followed it to its dead end at Calvary Cemetery. Other cars grabbed the first empty spaces on adjacent roads and mourners walked the rest of the way.

  At the cemetery, Mary Ann Viafore bid a final good-bye to her beloved son. Her pain was intense—no mother wants to survive her child. Her son’s death felt like a life sentence as pieces of her heart lowered into the grave with the casket.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  On Thursday, July 9, 2015, Angelika Graswald appeared before Judge Freehill for a pretrial conference that centered on discovery issues. The defense presented a long list of the items they wanted from the state, including videos, still photographs, documents, and Angelika’s diary. Often, discovery is a lengthy information-sharing process monitored by the trial judge.

  The judge set three additional pretrial sessions for September 11, September 28, and October 16. The one piece of concrete information that both sides wanted was the autopsy report. They had two more months to wait.

  On July 15, the defense sent Marc Janoson, a forensic psychologist, to perform an evaluation on Angelika. The state waited for the team to submit a notice of intent to present psychiatric evidence at trial. When the window to submit expired, they assumed they would never see one. Months later, they would learn they had been wrong.

  * * *

  CBS aired the 48 Hours episode “Death on the Hudson” on July 29. The show included damaging excerpts from the recording of Angelika’s police interrogation and Mike Colvin’s reenactment of Angelika prostrating herself in his driveway in their argument over the couple’s cat. Both clips strengthened the state’s case against her. The audience heard her say she was “euphoric” when she realized Vince was going to die and “happy” and “relieved” when he was gone. They heard her tell police that Vince’s sexual demands were over-the-top, as if a request for a threesome was a justifiable reason for homicide.

  However, there were some interviews and demonstrations featured in the episode that supported Angelika’s innocence. Michael Archer, the defense team’s forensic expert, was ever present in the episode. He stated: “I haven’t seen all the evidence, but the evidence I have seen certainly does not support homicide. This is, by all accounts, a tragic accident.”

  Archer introduced 48 Hours correspondent Peter Van Sant to Buddy Behney, an operator of Mountain Top Outfitters, who crossed the river in a kayak just like Vince’s with the plug removed. He traversed the span without incident. Then Archer conducted his own experiment. He sealed the cockpit of the kayak and removed the plug, then poured a full five-gallon bucket of water into the vessel. When he flipped it over, about an ounce of water came out. “For what wouldn’t fill a shot glass, a woman is in jail being charged with murder,” Archer said. The show made no mention of the state police’s testing of the significance of the plug.

  48 Hours followed up that attack on the prosecution with Jim Trainum, an interrogation expert who argued that he saw red flags in the interrogation video indicating that the so-called confession was coerced.

  The prosecution didn’t like the show at all. They were outraged that the defense had shared the police interrogation video with CBS.

  * * *

  The Orange County Medical Examiner released the autopsy report on September 10, reporting Vince’s cause of death as drowning. The ME cited a two-inch abrasion on his body and bruises on his chest, arm, and left side, as well as a bloated face and abdomen marked by red and green discoloration. The toxicology indicated a blood alcohol level below the legal limit, at 0.066. None of these physical findings pointed to the manner of death; nonetheless, the report stated the means of Vince’s death as homicide. The basis given for that conclusion was a “kayak drain plug intentionally removed by other.”

  The defense team was livid. “Clearly, the Orange County medical examiner failed to conduct any meaningful investigation of her own and relied on false information provided by the New York State Police,” Portale said. “She ruled this a homicide without a scintilla of medical evidence.”

  A spokesperson for the county executive, Steven Neuhaus, came to the defense of Jennifer Roman, who’d performed the autopsy and written the report:
“Obviously, the statute envisions that the autopsy is only one aspect of the medical examiner’s report. If medical examiners were limited to basing their conclusions solely on a physical examination of the body, there would be no coroner inquests. The coroners and medical examiners have been doing this for over 100 years.”

  The family was relieved with the conclusion. They’d never believed that their loved one’s death was an accident and now, they felt, the person responsible would pay for the wrong perpetrated against him.

  As is often the case with a victim’s family, any step in the dreary judicial process stirred up a pot of conflicting emotions. Vince’s ex-wife Suzanne told Newsweek, “Unfortunately, I don’t believe I’ll ever have closure. Whatever happens, it’s not going to bring Vinny back, but I’m really hoping for justice. I want … [Angelika] to spend the rest of her life in prison where she belongs. She should never get to hug her mother, sister, or friends, if she has any left, again.”

  * * *

  On September 12, the parties gathered in Judge Freehill’s courtroom again. The prosecution wanted a sample of Angelika’s DNA to compare to evidence they possessed with an unknown genetic profile. The court granted the request and also granted Portale permission to be present when the buccal swab was taken from his client.

  On the last day of September, the state filed an objection, claiming that the defense had violated the gag order by scheduling Angelika for a sit-down interview with ABC’s 20/20 on October 1. They wanted the judge to protect the integrity of the case by ordering Graswald and Portale to stop making out-of-court statements. “Free speech is a balance. It must bend to the fair administration of justice,” the state argued, adding that the proper place to try the case was in the courtroom, not in the press.