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FOR HER late wife’s death, a widow faced four separate trials before a jury reached their verdict.
Ultimately, Cara Rintala was convicted of the charges brought against her for Annamarie Cochrane’s death.
Who is Cara Rintala?
Cara Rintala is a widow, mother of one, and firefighter from Granby, Massachusetts; she worked at Ludlow Fire Department.
She shares one daughter named Brianna with her late wife Annamarie Cochrane.
Rintala and Annamarie were believed to have started dating in 2002; they wed in 2005.
On March 29, 2010, Annamarie was found dead in the basement of her family’s home.
Investigators attributed her cause of death to manual strangulation.
In addition to strangulation, police also concluded she was beaten to death.
On October 19, 2011, Rintala was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in relation to Annamarie’s death.
Over the next decade, Rintala stood trial four separate times.
On March 13, 2013, her trial at Hampshire Superior Court ended with a hung jury.
She was unsuccessfully retried a second time but a jury still wasn’t able to reach a verdict on February 4, 2014.
On October 7, 2016, the widowed firefighter was convicted of first-degree murder.
She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
On September 27, 2021, a judge overturned Rintala’s verdict due to a witness’ lack of credibility; she was released on $50,000 bail.
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Although the verdict was vacated, the judge refused to absolve her of the murder charge.
Therefore, Rintala’s fourth trial commenced on September 13, 2023.
What was Rintala’s trial verdict?
On October 5, 2023, Rintala was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter
She was sentenced to 12 to 14 years in prison and was credited for already serving seven years.
During her impact statement, Rintala’s daughter Brianna told the court: “The only mother I ever remember is Cara.
“I remember the first time she was taken away and believe it is something a child should never have to go through.
“Every time she is taken away from me, it feels like a piece of me is taken away from me as well.
“I want this pain to be over and I want my mom back for good.”
Where is Rintala now?
Rintala is serving the remainder of her sentence at Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center in Chicopee.
On June 9, 2017, Annamarie’s homicide investigation was retold in an episode of Dateline NBC titled At the Bottom of the Stairs.
On December 15, 2023, NBC is scheduled to air an updated version of the episode titled Down the Basement Stairs.
Show anchor Dennis Murphy gathers accounts from those who were involved with the case.
Down the Basement Stairs is slated to air at 10pm EST via the abovementioned network.
Audiences who miss the broadcast can check out the episode via Hulu or Peacock.
