State Can Use Most Statements by Accused in Hudson River Kayak Drowning Case

The long-awaited decision on the admissibility of statements by accused murderer Angelika Graswald, 36, was finally released last Friday. The judge presiding over her case took months to render a careful decision on the numerous statements she made to police between April 19, 2015 (the day her fiancé drowned) and April 30, 2015 (the day of her arrest). Graswald is accused of manipulating Vincent Viafore’s kayak which caused him to drown on April 19, 2015 as the two were kayaking on New York’s Hudson River. They were in separate kayaks and had visited Bannerman Island that day. The waters reportedly got a bit rough as they headed home in the early evening. Graswald says his death was an accident. Her statements to police on the day he disappeared and in the following days, raised their suspicions. Coupled with evidence that…