Krivak Acquitted In Second Trial

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — Josette Wright of Carmel disappeared in 1994. The body of the 12-year-old was discovered in Patterson 13 months later. The two teens convicted in 1997 for her rape and murder have now had their convictions overturned.

Anthony DiPippo was granted a new trial and was found not guilty by a jury in 2016. DiPippo had been found guilty twice; both times the conviction was overturned on appeal. He received $12 million from Putnam County to settle a wrongful conviction lawsuit. That infuriated Putnam District Attorney Robert Tendy, who said DiPippo's civil rights had never been violated.

In 2016, State Supreme Court Justice Victor Alfieri ruled that the evidence presented at Andrew Krivak's 1997 trial was overwhelming and the purported new evidence was not likely to result in a change.

His defense argued that a statement he gave police was a false, coerced confession. In 2020, Krivak's conviction was overturned. He was let out of prison with an ankle monitoring device while Putnam County re-tried the case. On Monday, after a seven-week trial, a jury acquitted him, The Examiner and other media outlets reported.

DiPippo and others have said another man confessed to the killing.