Lawyer challenges Viafore autopsy report
The medical examiner's autopsy report on a drowned kayaker accused his fiancee of sabotaging his boat, but her defense attorney disputes that claim. Angelika Graswald was arrested earlier this year
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Sep 12, 2015, 3:04 AM
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Updated 3,337 days ago
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The medical examiner's autopsy report on a drowned kayaker accused his fiancee of sabotaging his boat, but her defense attorney disputes that claim.
Angelika Graswald was arrested earlier this year on charges that she killed her fiance, Vincent Viafore, who drowned in the Hudson River.
Viafore was not wearing a life jacket when he fell out of his kayak on April 19. Ten days later, police arrested Graswald.
Prosecutors say she admitted to tampering with Viafore's kayak to cause his death, and the autopsy report accuses Graswald of removing a drain plug to cause Viafore's kayak to fill up with water.
Graswald's attorney, Richard Portale, calls that an absurd finding.
"I am very surprised that the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office didn't stick to medical evidence," Portale says. "Clearly she tailored her report to whatever police told her."
Portale says that the missing plug has nothing to do with Viafore's body. He questions why the claim was listed in an autopsy report, which usually just focuses on medical evidence.
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