The dead fiancé of alleged “kayak killer” Angelika Graswald drank one beer too many before his boat flipped and he was swept up in the frigid Hudson River, the woman’s lawyer said on Friday.
Graswald’s lawyer, Richard Portale, said they are awaiting the results of an autopsy that will show Vincent Viafore was “acutely” intoxicated when his boat capsized on April 19 during a trip to scenic Bannerman Island, 50 miles north of New York City.
The Latvian-born Graswald — accused of killing Viafore, 46, by pulling the plug from his kayak and pushing his floating paddle out of his reach — pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter at her arraignment in Orange County Court on Friday.
“We expect to see that this was an accidental drowning, hypothermia and possible acute alcohol intoxication,” Portale said. “I think it’s pretty clear that they were drinking, at least had a couple beers.”
Viafore’s body was discovered floating in the Hudson River near West Point a week ago.
The medical examiner performing an autopsy is still awaiting the results of a toxicology report, the lawyer said.
Outside the courthouse, Portale slammed prosecutors for charging his client with contradictory crimes of intentional and accidental murder.
“Logically, a person can’t commit the same act both intentionally and recklessly,” he said, accusing prosecutors of “trying to fit a square peg into a round hole to make a homicide of what is an accidental drowning.”
Prosecutors claim Graswald moved her fiancé’s paddle as he struggled to stay afloat in 40-degree water and then waited 10 minutes from the time he was pulled under before calling 911.
She confessed to police investigators that “it felt good knowing he was going to die,” according to prosecutors.
Meanwhile, Graswald appeared in court armed with new recruits on her defense team. The experts hired to prove her innocence now include co-counsel Jeffrey Chartier, who successfully represented two MTA train engineers involved in fatal crashes; John Fleming, a retired NYPD homicide detective; and forensic scientist Michael Archer.
Portale refused to say how Graswald, who used to work as a waitress and bartender, would pay for their services, calling the question inappropriate.
If acquitted, Graswald would be the beneficiary of Viafore’s $250,000 life-insurance policy.