Background

• Personal History: Angelika Graswald was born in Latvia and moved to the United States in 2000. Her father was a police officer, and her mother was a housemaid. She was an aspiring singer and worked various jobs, including as a nanny and a bartender. 
• Vincent Viafore was a project manager from Poughkeepsie, New York. His friends and family described him as fun-loving, outgoing, and the life of the party. 

The Incident

• Date: April 19, 2015.
• Location: The couple went kayaking on the Hudson River near Bannerman Island in New York.
• Events: 
• The day began with both Graswald and Viafore hungover from the previous night. They had fought about how long to stay out, she later told police, and whether he was okay to drive home. By morning, the couple had made up and were determined to sneak in a kayaking trip—the first of the season—before the weekend was out. It was unseasonably warm on April 19, 2015, but bad weather was forecast for that evening. Viafore packed the car while Graswald showered. They stopped at a Wendy’s on their way to Plum Point, ate, and bought cigarettes. 

 

• Their destination was Bannerman Island, home to the red-brick carapace of Bannerman Castle. A former military-surplus arsenal built at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Scottish-style castle is now mostly destroyed, the result of a fire in 1969. The island is off-limits to visitors outside of scheduled tours, but Graswald was a volunteer gardener with the Bannerman Castle Trust and was friends with its caretakers. She and Viafore wanted to take their wedding photos on the island.

 

• By the time they pushed off, it was about 4:30 p.m. Graswald had a life jacket and her purse, while Viafore had his phone, a camera, and a dry bag. They brought some beers. Graswald texted her friend Barbara Gottlock, a caretaker, telling her that they were headed to the island.

 

• The couple had planned on staging a sexy photo shoot. Graswald had brought fishnets and heels but had decided it was too cold. Graswald and Viafore arrived on the island a half hour later. They walked around, drank beers, and took pictures anyway, both wearing sweatshirts. At around 7 p.m., Gottlock texted to say she and her husband thought they had seen Graswald and Viafore on the island through the telescope on their deck. Her husband thought he made out Graswald on the dock, dancing while Viafore took her photo. Graswald replied that they were leaving and said they waved in the direction of her house.
• The couple paddled toward the other side of the island, intending to make a stop there, but quickly called it off. The sun was setting, the wind was picking up, and the waves were getting bigger. Plus, the tide was heading out, which meant the return trip would be more strenuous. As Viafore pulled ahead of Graswald in his kayak, riding the three-foot waves, he said, “Baby, this is an adventure of a lifetime.”

 

• At approximately 7:40 p.m., Graswald called 911. She tells the dispatcher their location and asks to “please call anybody.” She explains that she and her fiance were kayaking and that his kayak flipped over and that he is in the water with the current dragging him south while the waves are carrying her north. “I can’t get him. It’s very windy and the waves are coming in and I can’t paddle to him.” Five minutes into the call, Graswald says she can’t see Viafore anymore and she begins to wail. The dispatcher urges her to stay calm and paddle in the direction of the lights of the emergency vehicle that is arriving. 

The river was cold that day, roughly 48 degrees with a chance of rain, which would mean unpredictable and dangerous waves.  

 

Investigation and Arrest

• Initial Reports: Graswald claimed Viafore’s death was accidental, stating that he wasn’t wearing a life jacket and his kayak was missing a drain plug. 
• Suspicion and Arrest: Authorities became suspicious due to inconsistencies in Graswald’s story and her behavior following the incident, such as her being seen gleefully dancing in a bar and doing cartwheels just after the incident. On April 29, 2015, ten days after the incident, she was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. 

 

Key Evidence:

• • Confession: Graswald allegedly confessed during police interviews that she felt “relief” and “happiness” at Viafore’s death and admitted to tampering with his kayak.
  • Life Insurance: Graswald stood to collect on Viafore’s life insurance policies, totaling approximately $550,000, which prosecutors argued was a motive for murder.

Legal Proceedings

• Trial Preparation: Graswald initially pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case garnered significant media attention, often being referred to as the “Kayak Killer” case. The prosecution alleged that Graswald tampered with the kayak’s drain plug and his paddle, causing him to capsize.

 

• Viafore’s estate sued Graswald for wrongful death and moved for partial summary judgment on liability. The estate alleged that partial summary judgment was warranted. Graswald, by her own admission, acknowledged and admitted under oath to causing the wrongful death and conscious pain and suffering of Viafore. Graswald was made aware that her plea of guilty had the same legal significance as a verdict of guilty after trial. 

 

• Graswald’s guilty plea to Criminally Negligent Homicide was sufficient to collaterally estop her from re-litigating the issue of whether her negligence was a proximate cause of the incident on April 19, 2015. However, the estate’s submissions failed to establish as a matter of law that Viafore was free from culpable conduct with regard to the causation of his injuries and ultimate death. The estate’s submissions, including the affirmation of counsel, plea transcript and the pleadings, failed to establish as a matter of law that Viafore was free from culpable conduct with regard to the causation.

 

• Plea Deal: In July 2017, Graswald accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. She admitted that she should have perceived the risks involved in the kayaking trip. Graswald’s plea allocution included her acknowledgment of blameworthy conduct so serious that it contributed to a substantial and unjustifiable risk that Viafore’s death would occur. She admitted that she failed to perceive the substantial and unjustifiable risk of death of her conduct. Additionally, throughout the transcript, the dangers of both the river and the unpreparedness of the parties were emphasized. Particularly, Graswald indicated that she knew, as Viafore presumably did, that it was cold and windy with water temperatures in the 40’s. Viafore was neither wearing a life jacket nor wet suit.
• Sentence: In November 2017, she was sentenced to 1⅓ to 4 years in prison. Having already spent over two and a half years in jail awaiting trial, she was released on parole in December 2017.

Aftermath

• Public Reaction: The case remained controversial, with some believing Graswald was wrongfully accused and others convinced of her guilt.
• Settlement: In 2018, a legal settlement was reached between both parties when Viafore’s family sued to prevent Graswald from obtaining the money from the life insurance policy. As all legal settlements, the terms remain confidential. 
• Post-Release: After her release on December 2018, Graswald has maintained a low profile except to discuss and share her story. She maintains her innocence and discusses the emotional and psychological toll the case has taken on her.