Kayaking, Canoeing & Rafting
Vincent Viafore’s Tragic Death on the River – Was it Murder or an Accident?
Vincent Viafore’s body was found after he capsized on a kayaking trip, here’s why authorities are claiming it was murder….
Last April, 35-year-old Angelika Graswald and her 46-year-old fiance Vincent Viafore went kayaking in the Hudson River near Cornwall, New York.
The kayak route they took is a popular one, although fairly difficult in the wrong conditions, and the couple were not wearing life-jackets.
Around 7:30 p.m in the evening, 911 received a call from Graswald, in which she said that her fiancé had capsized his kayak and was in distress in the water. The emergency services soon arrived to find Graswald alone in the water, but no sign of her fiancé.
One month later, the body of Viafore was discovered close by, near the Cornwall Yacht Club.
On the face of it, this looks like an open and shut case of a tragic death in the great outdoors, however in the year since the body was found, investigators have become increasingly suspicious in Graswald’s full involvement.
Graswald has been reported to have been cold and emotionless after the event, which prompted the police into further questioning, which then revealed inconsistencies in her story.
“Yes … I wanted him dead, and now he’s gone.”
“Initially, we believed her to be a survivor of a tragic accident,” said New York State Police Maj. Patrick Regan, following the incident.
“Some inconsistencies in the accounts that she gave of those last minutes led investigators to be suspicious.”
Things are looking even more damning for Graswald since she seemingly confessed to the crime on a tape shown on TV show 48 hours, saying “Yes … I wanted him dead, and now he’s gone.”
The prosecution wants to stand by the confession, claiming that she stood to receive $250,000 form Viafore’s life insurance policy and that this motivated her to commit the crime. Her defense however, is battling to have the confession scrapped, because of the terms in which the police obtained it and the context in which it was said.
While a kayak accident seems like a strange way to commit a murder against someone close to you, the evidence on both sides seems to be mounting and we will have to all wait for the verdict, to find out the truth.
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