The body of paramedic Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, 37, was found in the basement of her home in Granby, Massachusetts in 2010. It was her 2-year-old daughter Brianna who found her body at the bottom of the stairwell (covered in paint) and told her other mother Cara Rintala, 49, “Mommy’s in the basement.” Cara Rintala was accused of staging a break-in and strangling her wife of three years. After two mistrials (two juries failed to reach a verdict in 2013 and 2014), Cara Rintala was found guilty of first-degree murder in October 2016. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
After her sentencing, six of the jurors spoke with Dateline. One of the male jurors said he believes “Cara was in a toxic relationship. But is she a menace to society? No, so on a gut level do I feel like life in prison is the answer? I don’t think so. And yet that’s the way our system works.” Dateline airs Saturdays at 9pm on NBC.
