Today, Cara Rintala was convicted by a Hampshire County jury for voluntary manslaughter of Annamarie Cochrane, her wife, in an incident dating to 2010. The conviction has a potential maximum of 20 years in state prison, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for October 19th, according to MassLive. To date, Rintala has served seven years in prison – these were served pre-trial and post 2016 conviction which was later overturned.
Despite the first two trials ending in mistrials because of jury deadlock, a 2016 conviction was, on appeal, overturned by the State's Supreme Court, as they ruled an unqualified witness who testified about paint-drying process, as reported by WWLP. This fourth trial of Rintala began last Wednesday with new jury deliberations that resumed Tuesday after three jurors were excused due to personal issue
At the scene of the 2010 event in Granby, Rintala supposedly found Cochrane-Rintala lifeless at home's basement staircase, with the floor and the body of Annamarie painted, as per WWLP. The prosecutors portrayed Rintala as the sole one able to perform the killing across the trial, while the defense maintained the investigation failed to sufficiently focus on key persons of interest.
In reaction to verdict of this fourth trial, Rintala showed visible distress and repeatedly inquired "why" as her bail was rescinded and court officers handcuffed her, furthers MassLive.
