Angelika Graswald was facing the possibility of a life sentence nearly three years ago. But four days before Christmas 2017, she walked out of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York state, focusing on rebuilding her life.
Graswald made headlines when she was charged with murder in the second degree and manslaughter in the second degree in the drowning of her fiancé, Vincent Viafore. She pleaded not guilty.
The then 35-year-old was living with Viafore in Poughkeepsie, New York. Both had been married before. They planned to tie the knot on a beach on the Baltic Sea in her home country, Latvia.
On the fateful afternoon, the couple decided to go kayaking across the Hudson River to Bannerman’s Island. The river was cold, about 48 degrees, and the forecast called for rain, but they went out anyway.
On their return back across the river several hours later, Graswald said Viafore, who wasn’t wearing a life jacket, capsized in the rough waves and drowned. Prosecutors claimed Graswald was responsible for his death because she had removed a connector ring from his paddle and the drain plug from the kayak.
After an 11-hour police interrogation, Graswald was arrested. She was officially indicted for second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in May 2015 after Viafore’s body was recovered from the river, and pleaded not guilty to both charges.
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