Judge grants bail for Cara Rintala pending fourth murder trial
NORTHAMPTON – Hampshire Superior Court Judge Richard Carey today set bail for Cara Rintala, facing a fourth trial on first-degree murder in connection with the 2010 killing of her wife, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, at $50,000 cash and required her to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet. He also ruled that she can live in Narragansett, Rhode Island with her parents and daughter.
Northwestern First Assistant District Attorney Steven E. Gagne, who is prosecuting the case along with Deputy District Attorney Jennifer H. Suhl, had argued for bail of $100,000 and a condition that she live in Massachusetts, as she was required to do when out on bail for two years between the second trial in 2014 and the third trial that led to her conviction in 2016. Since that conviction, Rintala has spent just over five years in state prison.
“The procedural history of this case demonstrates that a significant cash bail and strict release conditions will likely ensure the defendant’s appearance at future court dates,” First ADA Gagne noted in a motion for bail and conditions of release. “The Commonwealth therefore agrees that it would be appropriate for the Court to admit the defendant to bail – albeit a significant one – that is commensurate with the crime charged and the potential penalty the defendant faces if convicted.”
The motion also noted that bail and strict conditions are needed because of the “inherent risk of flight posed by anyone facing such a penalty (particularly someone familiar with life in prison).”
Defense attorney Chauncey Wood argued that his client should be released on personal recognizance -- or $25,000 -- and asked the judge to permit his client to live with her elderly parents who have been caring for the now 14-year-old daughter of Cara Rintala and Annamarie Cochrane Rintala for the duration of the criminal case.
After announcing the $50,000 cash bail and the provision that she may live with her parents and daughter, Judge Carey imposed these other conditions of release: abide by a curfew requiring her to remain home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.; not apply for a passport; sign a waiver of extradition; and report to the Hampshire Superior Court Probation Department weekly by telephone or video conference.
Cara Rintala was indicted for first degree murder by a Hampshire grand jury on Oct. 19, 2011 in connection with the March 29, 2010 death of her wife, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, who was 37 years old. She was ordered held without bail at her arraignment, and remained held through both the first trial (2013) and the second trial (2014), both of which resulted in mistrials after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Following the second mistrial, the defense and prosecution jointly recommended bail and conditions that Rintala complied with through the third trial when a Hampshire Superior Court jury delivered a guilty verdict on Oct. 7, 2016. She has been incarcerated since that day.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Sept. 27 overturned the conviction, ruling that the trial judge had erred by allowing expert testimony regarding paint drying. Annamarie Cochrane Rintala was covered in paint when investigators found her in the basement of the home the couple shared in Granby, MA. The SJC also ruled that the Commonwealth had presented enough evidence in the trial to support a conviction.
The Northwestern District Attorney’s Office intends to try the case again in the interest of justice for Annamarie Cochrane Rintala.
“We don’t walk away from a murder case just because it is difficult to try,” said First ADA Gagne.
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Criminal charges are based on probable cause to believe a person has committed a crime.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.