Cara Rintala: Massachusetts woman convicted of killing wife in her fourth murder trial
NORTHAMPTON, MASSACHUSETTS: Justice has been served for Annamarie Cochrane-Rintala.
The 37-year-old Massachusetts woman was strangled by her wife in March 2010 as per court documents.
During the fourth murder trial, Cara Rintala was found guilty by the jury on Thursday, October 5.
She is now convicted of the voluntary manslaughter charge, which also makes her the state's first woman to be sentenced for murdering her wife.
Massachusetts was the first state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2003.
#BREAKING: A jury found Massachusetts mother Cara Rintala guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the death of her wife, Annamarie Rintala.
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) October 5, 2023
Annamarie was found dead in the couple’s basement covered in paint back in 2010. Cara said she had been out running errands with their young… pic.twitter.com/nHcSeGSmns
How long is Cara Rintala's prison term?
Cara is likely to serve a sentence of 20 years or less as per General Laws.
Rintala's fourth murder trial started on September 13. She was living with her teenage daughter and her elderly parents in the Plantation State following the murder.
Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard Carey ordered the release of her without objection from the state and she was released on $50,000 personal surety and & 50,000 cash bail, as per Law &Crime.
The victim was found at the bottom of the staircase by authorities with Cara holding on to her deceased partner.
Later, it was confirmed by a medical examiner that Cochrane-Rintala died due to strangling.
Annamarie Cochrane-Rintala was 'bloody and beaten, cold to the touch and covered in paint.'
David Guilianelli, who is “a quality engineer at the company that manufactured the paint found at the crime scene” was called to the stand to shed light on the substance.
He told jurors during his testimony, “The paint found at the crime scene was poured deliberately and not spilled and that the paint was poured no more than four hours before photographs were taken of the crime scene just after 9 pm,” as per court documents.
What happened during the previous three murder trials?
Rintala continued to plead not guilty, as she faced four murder trials in the past decade.
The first two took place in 2013 and 2014 and ended with hung juries.
Meanwhile, the third led to a conviction but was reversed by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in 2021.
Rintala initially told investigators that the night before the responders found the dead body, she had been arguing with her wife and also acknowledged her status as the "number one suspect," reports MEAWW.
The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office managed to secure a trial date for the fourth time in 2022.
The prosecution in the case was led by Steven E George, the Northwestern First Assistant District Attorney. Cara was represented by Boston attorney Rosemary Scapicchio.
The sentencing will take place at 2 pm on October 19.