Defense lawyer David P. Hoose told Judge Mary-Lou Rup that police saw no evidence that Cara Rintala was bleeding or had a wound on the day her wife was killed.
Cara Rintala
NORTHAMPTON – Hampshire Superior Court Judge Mary-Lou Rup has ruled that she will allow much of the evidence the prosecution wants to use against Cara Rintala in her murder trail, with the caveat that some of it might be redacted or that jurors will be instructed to receive it in a limited context.
The majority of the evidence in question pertains to the tumult in the marriage between Rintala and her wife, Annemarie Cochrane Rintala, whom she is accused of killing. Cochrane Rintala was beaten and strangled to death in the Granby home she shared with the defendant on March 29, 2010. Police responding to a 911 call found Rintala cradling the body of her dead wife in the basement and wailing.
The defense has acknowledged that the marriage was rocky and filled with arguments over money and other matters. Each partner had sued the other for divorce but subsequently dropped the complaints. Both woman also took restraining orders against the other. Rup ruled that the restraining order granted to Cochrane Rintala can be used to show the defendant’s state of mind and intent, but that prejudicial information may be redacted from the document the jury sees.
Evidence that the defendant was arrested for assault and battery as a result of Cochrane Rintala’s restraining order can be used to show that the couple had a hostile relationship but not to indicate that Rintala acted violently in the past, Rup said. The charge was subsequently dropped with Cochrane Rintala’s consent.
Likewise, the prosecution may present evidence of a disconnected 911 call from the residence to show marital discord. The defense has said that the couple’s daughter accidentally dialed 911 after knocking over the phone.
Prosecutors Steven Gagne and Jennifer Suhl argued at a pretrial hearing for including evidence of Rintala’s blood drops found on a laundry basket, a shower curtain and her own necklace. Defense lawyer David P. Hoose told Rup that police saw no evidence that Rintala was bleeding or had a wound on the day her wife was killed. Rup said she will allow the blood evidence, however.
Rup allowed requests by both the defense and the prosecution to seal the couple’s financial records, saying the information could be misused or compromised.
She also ruled that unspecified “other materials” will remain sealed until they are admitted into evidence or until the conclusion of the trial. Rup said that publicizing such materials could prejudice Rintala’s right to a fair trial and an impartial jury. Jury selection is due to begin on Monday.