The woman who allegedly sabotaged her fiance’s kayak before they took a trip along the Hudson River intentionally pushed his paddle away from him as he struggled to stay afloat, prosecutors charged Tuesday.
Vincent Viafore vanished April 19 after his kayak filled with water and flipped over about 50 miles north of New York City during a fateful trip with Angelika Graswald.
Viafore, 46, held onto his boat for five to 10 minutes, but Graswald called 911 some 20 minutes after his kayak capsized, prosecutors said.
Graswald, 35, was busted April 30, and on Tuesday, was indicted on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges, Orange County DA David Hoovler said.
Prosecutors had said Graswald yanked the drain plug from Viafore’s kayak — but alleged Tuesday that she had also stopped him from reaching his paddle.
She “moved the paddle away from him as he was struggling to stay afloat with water temperatures in the 40 degree range, and failed to render him assistance including timely calls for help,” the DA said in a statement.
Witnesses said Graswald intentionally capsized her own kayak, authorities said.
She later told investigators that she felt relief and that “it felt good knowing he would die,” said Julie Mohl, an Orange County prosecutor.
Latvian-born Graswald was looking to cash in on Viafore’s $250,000 life insurance policies, according to authorities.
Deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office found Viafore on Saturday as they patrolled the waters near the US Military Academy at West Point in Highland Falls in advance of the military school’s graduation ceremony Saturday.
Graswald has not yet entered a plea and is being held on $3 million bail. The second-degree murder charge carries a potential penalty of 25 years to life, prosecutors said.
Her lawyer Richard Portale told The Post the latest allegations are “speculation and desperation.”
Sources said more toxicology tests needed to be performed before determining the cause of death.
