A woman who admitted to causing her fiance’s death on New York’s Hudson River by removing a plug from his kayak has been sentenced to up to four years in state prison.
Angelika Graswald, 37, was given a sentence of 16 months to four years on Wednesday in Orange County Court.
She admitted to removing the plug from 46-year-old Vincent Viafore’s kayak and pushing a floating paddle away from him after the kayak capsized in April 2015.
Angelika Graswald, 37, was sentenced on Wednesday (above) over the death of her fiance Vincent Viafore who died kayaking on New York’s Hudson River in 2015
Graswald was originally charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter but pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in July just weeks before her murder trial was set to start.
Her lawyer says because Graswald has been in jail since her arrest two years ago she could be released on parole in late December.
Prior to her sentencing, the victim’s sister read a statement to the court saying Viafore didn’t deserve to die the way he did.
‘When I think of my brother’s last moments alive, I think of the pain he must have endured,’ Laura Rice said, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal.
‘I visualize him trying to survive hypothermia in the freezing cold river, confused and not understanding why the woman who said she loved him and wanted to marry him did nothing to help him.’
Graswald admitted to removing the plug from 46-year-old Vincent Viafore’s kayak before they set out on New York’s Hudson River in 2015
She also admitted to pushing a floating paddle away from him after his kayak (above) capsized on a day when conditions were dangerous on the river
As part of her guilty plea, Graswald – a Latvian national – admitted to pulling out the plug to Viafore’s kayak before they set out on the river on a day when conditions were dangerous.
She also admitted that she knew a clip on one of his paddles was missing and that he didn’t have a life jacket or wet suit on at the time.
Viafore’s sister called for authorities to deport Graswald as soon as she finishes serving her sentence. Graswald is a US permanent resident.
The victim’s body was found three weeks after he disappeared by a fisherman near the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Prosecutors claimed during earlier court hearings that Graswald wanted out of her relationship with Viafore and had wanted to get her hands on $250,000 in life insurance.
At her arraignment back in May 2015, Orange County Assistant District Attorney Julie Mohl said: ‘She felt trapped, and it was her only way out.’
Graswald was originally charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter but pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in July (pictured above)