Kayak Drowning Murder Case Delayed Over Psychiatric Evidence

Jury selection was supposed to start today in the second degree murder trial of Angelika Graswald, 37, accused of the drowning death of her fiance, Vincent Viafore, 46, as they were kayaking on April 19, 2015 on New York’s Hudson River. But a defense notice filed on March 8 indicates that Graswald intends to present psychiatric evidence at trial. That notice put the brakes on the trial because the state is entitled to have its own psychiatric evidence to counter the defense’s evidence. Graswald will now be required to submit to a psychiatric evaluation by a witness selected by the state. The prosecution team was not pleased at a hearing on Monday, March 13, when they reminded the judge that the deadline for filing notice of a psychiatric defense (or psychiatric evidence) is long past. In fact, such notice should…