Jury finds Cara Rintala guilty of voluntary manslaughter charge
NORTHAMPTON – A jury today declared Cara Rintala guilty of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the strangulation death in 2010 of her wife Annemarie Cochrane Rintala, 37, at the couple’s Granby home.
The trial before Hampshire Superior Court Judge Francis Flannery lasted for a month, beginning Sept. 6 with jury selection and ending with today’s verdict after the jury deliberated for 2 ½ days. This was the fourth trial for Rintala, with the first two resulting in deadlocked juries. In 2016, a jury returned a verdict of guilty on first degree murder; that verdict was overturned on appeal in 2021.
Voluntary manslaughter is considered a lesser-included offense of first-degree murder. The essential difference between the two charges is that first-degree murder requires a specific intent to kill with either deliberate premeditation or extreme atrocity or cruelty, whereas voluntary manslaughter is an unplanned killing that takes place in the heat of passion or during sudden combat. Sentencing terms are starkly different: first degree murder convictions carry life in state prison with no possibility of parole, versus a maximum of 20 years in state prison for manslaughter.
All four trials were prosecuted by Northwestern Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Suhl and Northwestern First Assistant District Attorney Steven E. Gagne.
“Today’s verdict is the culmination of a long and winding journey toward justice for Annamarie Cochrane and her family,” said First Assistant D.A. Gagne. “We are thankful to the jury for the time and care they devoted toward their task.”
“The jury’s verdict today confirms that Annamarie’s life was tragically taken by her wife in an act of intimate partner violence; a public safety issue that continues to permeate our community 13 years after Annamarie’s death,” said Deputy DA Suhl. “Our office remains steadfast in a commitment to supporting and protecting abuse survivors and holding offenders accountable.”
After jurors returned the verdict at noon today, Judge Flannery granted the Commonwealth’s motion to revoke Rintala’s bail. A sentencing hearing has been set for Oct. 19 at 2 p.m.
After opening statements were delivered Sept. 13, the Commonwealth called 20 witnesses to the stand. Defense attorneys called two witnesses. Closing arguments were offered on Sept. 27. After deliberating for about two days, on Monday, three jurors were dismissed from service, leading Judge Flannery to add two alternates to the deliberating jury. When jurors assembled Tuesday morning, he instructed them to begin deliberations again, saying they constituted a new jury.
Rintala was represented in this trial by defense attorneys Rosemary Scapicchio, Chauncey Wood, and Melissa Ramos. She was represented in the other three trials by Northampton defense attorneys David Hoose and Luke Ryan.