Woman Accused of Murdering Kayaking Fiance Appears in Court for Pre-Trial Hearing

GOSHEN, NY — The woman accused of killing her fiance during a kayaking trip in 2015 appeared briefly in court Thursday in Orange County.

The reason for the pretrial hearing was whether or not jurors would be allowed to view a video of Angelika Graswald allegedly admitting she murdered Vincent Viafore, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal.

No decision was made on that, but Orange County Judge Robert Freehill said her trial on murder and manslaughter charges could start in late October, the Times Herald-Record said.

Police said Graswald initially called 911 to report that she and Viafore were kayaking in rough water which caused his kayak to capsize. Graswald said she fell out of her own kayak during her efforts to assist Viafore.

She was located later in the water and was rescued by a boater.

Graswald was arrested a few days later.

According to media reports, the detective who had the initial, untaped conversation with Graswald, said in the pre-trial hearing that she admitted to him that she took her fiance's paddle and said she felt trapped by her fiance and his demands to have sex with him and another woman.

It was after that conversation that police said they Graswald her Miranda rights and then interrogated her for roughly 12 hours.

In the interrogation tapes made public, Graswald is heard and seen saying "wanted him dead and now he's gone … and I'm OK with it."

For more details, read the Poughkeepsie Journal and the Times Herald-Record.

Photo credit: Orange County District Attorney's Office.