N.Y. / REGION

Kayak Suspect Pulled Paddle Away as Fiancé Died, Prosecutors Say

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Prosecutors and the police said Angelika Graswald, 35, made conflicting statements that implicated her in the death of Vincent Viafore.Pool photo by Allyse Pulliam 
GOSHEN, N.Y. — Her fiancé, separated from his kayak, struggled in the frigid and choppy waters of the Hudson River, reaching for his paddle to save his life. But prosecutors here in Orange County said on Tuesday that Angelika Graswald moved it away, and was slow to call for help.
In a news conference, prosecutors disclosed new details in the death of Vincent Viafore, the kayaker who had been missing for weeks; his body was found over the weekend in the river, not far from where he disappeared.
Prosecutors said Ms. Graswald, 35, set out to kill Mr. Viafore on April 19. She removed a plug from his kayak, they said, so that it would fill with water. She also tampered with his paddle. And though Mr. Viafore, 46, capsized around 7:15 p.m., it was not until about 7:40 that she summoned help.
The authorities have not disclosed the source of the details in their version of how events unfolded, but prosecutors did say that if the case goes to trial they plan to include as evidence written and oral statements from Ms. Graswald from the night of Mr. Viafore’s disappearance as well as from questioning by investigators the day before she was charged.
 
By AP 00:30
Prosecutor Announces Kayak Indictment

Prosecutor Announces Kayak Indictment

David M. Hoovler, the Orange County district attorney, announced Tuesday that Angelika Graswald had been indicted on charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
By AP on  May 26, 2015. Photo by Associated Press.
Her lawyer, Richard A. Portale, maintained his client’s innocence. He disputed that she had tampered with the paddle and said the boat’s plug had been missing for some time and did not affect its buoyancy.
“This is just a rush to judgment,” Mr. Portale said.
The authorities said Mr. Viafore’s body was found on Saturday in the middle of the Hudson River, just south of Bannerman Island and near the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Sheriff Carl E. DuBois of Orange County said his deputies had been posted on the river, guarding the graduation ceremony that day at the academy, when they were flagged by boaters who spotted the body. The deputies secured the body until State Police troopers recovered it from the water.
“As to the condition of the body and the cause of death, there will be no comment,” David M. Hoovler, the Orange County district attorney, told reporters.
Friends of the couple, who were planning a wedding on the Baltic Sea (Ms. Graswald is a native Latvian), have said they seemed happy together. But at the news conference, Mr. Hoovler appealed for witnesses to come forward who might have evidence to the contrary.
Investigators “believe there are people out there who know more about this crime,” he said.
“There are people who may have seen the deceased and the defendant prior to going out on April 19,” he continued, “or know the circumstances regarding their relationship.”
Mr. Viafore’s disappearance prompted the authorities to search miles of the river. The police initially believed that he died of an accidental drowning while returning from an excursion to Bannerman Island.
But according to prosecutors and the police, after Mr. Viafore’s disappearance, Ms. Graswald made conflicting statements and implicated herself in the death, saying that it “felt good knowing he was going to die.” Investigators also said that Ms. Graswald told them she had tampered with the kayak.
On Tuesday, an indictment on charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter was handed up, with the most severe charge carrying a maximum penalty of 25 years to life in prison.
Mr. Hoovler said it was not unusual to pursue two different charges for the same crime. “Prosecutors do it all the time,” he said. “It gives you multiple theories to proceed with.”
Prosecutors said Ms. Graswald knew she was the beneficiary of two life insurance policies belonging to Mr. Viafore, with a combined worth of $250,000.
Prosecutors have also said that Ms. Graswald intentionally capsized her own kayak to make it look as though she had tried to save him. Someone with firsthand knowledge of the rescue said that members of a local boat club were alerted to the couple’s distress, and that as they approached in their work boat, they saw her throw herself into the water.
Mr. Portale, her lawyer, argued that investigators may have ruled out that the death was an accident too quickly. The Hudson is known to be treacherous for kayakers, with its rough waters, and on that April day, the temperature was low enough, at 46 degrees, for hypothermia to set in within minutes. The couple was unprepared for those conditions. The police said Mr. Viafore was not wearing a life jacket but Ms. Graswald was.
“With no life vest, no leash fastening him to his kayak, no skirt to prevent water from splashing in and knowing what the water temperature was, he’s the master of his own destiny,” Mr. Portale said. “And now they’re trying to blame my client.”
Lisa W. Foderaro reported from Goshen, and Rick Rojas from New York.