GOSHEN, New York (WABC) -- Angelika Graswald pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide in her fiance's kayak death back in April 2015.
Graswald admits that she knew the drain plug was out and the ring was not on the paddle of Vincent Viafore's kayak in April 2015.
She also admitted to knowing that the weather would be dangerous, knew he was drinking, and also that he was not wearing gear and that caused a risk of death that she failed to perceive.
A Cornwall police officer had testified that she appeared calm and emotionless after she was rescued.
Graswald has earlier denied murder and manslaughter charges and her lawyer has argued that Viafore died accidentally after having had a few beers and falling into the cold water.
The drowning death was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner who wrote in an autopsy report obtained by The New York Times that Viafore's death was the result of a "kayak drain plug intentionally removed by other."
Defense attorney Richard Portale told the newspaper the medical examiner's ruling was ill-informed and lacked medical evidence.
Graswald told ABC News in an interview broadcast in November that she loved Viafore and wouldn't have done anything to kill him. She said she's a good person, not a killer.
Photos from the case of Angelika Graswald, accused of tampering with his fiance's kayak, killing him.
Graswald faces one to four years behind bars when she is sentenced on November 1st.
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THE accused killer kayaker Angelika Graswald is living it up in a New York slammer, boasting about how tasty the jail food is and laughing it up with visiting pals.
Missing ... Vincent Viafore, pictured with financee Angelika Graswald, was reported missing after his kayak overturned on the Hudson River in New York earlier this month. She has been charged with his murder. Picture: Sources at the Orange County Jail in Goshen, New York said Angelika Graswald is in great spirits despite losing her fiance, spending two weeks in the clink and a facing a murder trial, reported the New York Post.
“She doesn’t look like she’s mourning the death of someone she loved. To me, she’s not well up there [mentally]. She doesn’t look upset at all,” said a woman who has seen Graswald, 35, several times while visiting another inmate.
Graswald, who was charged with second- degree murder after her fiance mysteriously disappeared in the Hudson River when his kayak flipped, laughs and chats loudly with visitors who see her every day at the jail, where she is being held on US$3 million ($3.72 million) bail.
Graswald even wished all visiting mums a happy Mother’s Day last week, the woman said.
On one visit, Graswald was overheard excitedly talking about the jail’s mouth-watering dinner menu that evening.
“She’s laughing and I’ll hear her say, ‘Oh, today we’re eating chicken!’ She’s always happy and cheerful,” the source said.
Graswald, a Latvian expatriate, was kayaking with her fiance, Vincent Viafore, 46, April 18 on the way back from visiting historic Bannerman Island when his boat capsized. His body has not been found.
Happy in jail ... accused killer Angelika Graswald appears to be enjoying life behind bars. Picture: Allyse Pulliam/Times Herald-Record via AP.Source:AP
Graswald was arrested for murder 10 days later after giving police conflicting statements about the incident.
But she became the focus of scrutiny even before her arrest, when her whimsical Facebook posts showed cheerful recordings of her cat and animals at the sanctuary where she volunteered.
At a bail hearing on Wednesday, a prosecutor said that she had told police she had tampered with her fiancé’s kayak and that she “felt good knowing he was going to die”.
She reportedly stood to benefit from Viafore’s $250,000 life-insurance policy.
This story originally appeared in the New York Post.