'48 Hours:' Woman Heard Talking To Interrogator About Death Of Fiance On Hudson River
GOSHEN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- New questions were being raised Friday night in the case of an upstate woman charged with the murder of her fiancé while he was kayaking on the Hudson River.
CBS News' "48 Hours" will air a story on Saturday night on the case of Angelika Graswald, 35, who is charged with the death of Vincent Viafore, 46, whose decomposing body was found in May in the river near West Point.
The 911 call made by Graswald was obtained by "48 Hours."
"He's going to drown – please call somebody," Graswald is heard telling the dispatcher.
During the 911 call in April, Graswald said she and her fiancé had run into bad weather, and that Viafore had disappeared after his kayak collapsed.
But prosecutors said she removed a drain plug from Viafore's kayak, then delayed calling for help and pushed a floating paddle away from him as he struggled in the 40-degree water. She allegedly told investigators she was happy to know he would die.
In an interrogation video obtained by "48 Hours," Graswald seems to incriminate herself. But she said she took the plug out months earlier.
"I took it out before, a long time ago," she tells an officer.
"Yes, because you wanted him to die," a police detective says.
"Yes," Graswald replies.
Prosecutors say Graswald was hoping to collect $250,000 in life insurance, but her lawyer, Richard Portale, said Viafore's death was an accident. Portale also said he was skeptical of prosecution claims she admitted wrongdoing.
Graswald's attorneys said they have conducted experiments on the kayak proving her innocence.
See the complete story on "48 Hours" on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 p.m. on CBS2.
