On April 19, around 7:40pm, Angelika Graswald called 911 when she witnessed her fiance Vincent Viafore drowning in the Hudson River. She said they hit some bad weather when Vincent’s kayak capsized. Vincent, who was not wearing a life-preserver, soon disappeared under the choppy waters. Ten days after he disappeared, Graswald was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. She was accused of tampering with Vincent’s paddle and removing the plug on his kayak. In prosecutorial documents, she said some incriminating things like she was happy Vincent was gone.
[Experts Say Graswald and Viafore Made Rookie Mistakes On Hudson]
When Viafore’s body was found a month later in the river, Orange County’s chief medical examiner Jennifer L. Roman claimed Viafore was a victim of homicide caused by a “kayak drain plug intentionally removed by other.” Graswald’s attorneys say Roman overstepped her boundaries, and that her conclusion was based on police speculation not evidence found on/in the body. Investigative journalist Peter Van Sant promises to deliver new evidence regarding the death of Viafore on on CBS’ 48 Hours on September 12 at 10pm.
