In 2010, the tragic death of Annamarie Cochrane Rintala shocked the entire nation. The investigation found Annamarie’s wife, Cara Rintala, involvement in the murder and apprehended her almost a year after her death.
After authorities sent Annamarie’s body for autopsy, the medical examiner concluded that Annamarie’s died due to manual strangulation. The autopsy report also stated that the series of head wounds and trauma injuries across her body were contributing factors. The examiner’s testimony played an important role in proving how Cara Rintala allegedly killed her wife.
The gruesome case of Annamarie Cochrane Rintala’s murder will be featured in the upcoming episode of Dateline NBC. Titled ‘Down the Basement Stairs,’ the episode will air on the network on Friday, December 15, at 10 p.m. ET.
Annamarie Cochrane Rintala’s autopsy and cause of death revealed
As mentioned above, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala’s death happened due to manual strangulation. The media examiner, Dr. Joanne Richmond, also noted that injuries on her body were caused by blunt force trauma. Additionally, the expert also explained they these trauma injuries happened because someone or something hit them. Initially, the examiner couldn’t determine a specific time of death. However, she later confirmed that Annamarie’s death happened 6 to 8 hours before authorities found her body.
The Annamarie Cochrane Rintala murder case is one of the strangest cases to exist. The prime suspect, Cara Rintala, had to go through four different trials in the case because of several reasons. During the first two trials in 2013 and 2014, the jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict. As a result, the court ruled her first two trials as mistrials. The third Cara Rintala trial took place in 2016, and the jury found Cara guilty of first-degree murder. The court gave life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
However, the case took another wild turn in 2021 when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court overturned her conviction. The court released her from prison on bail. Two years later, the court denied the appeal to dismiss murder charges against Cara and permitted another trial. In 2023, a fourth trial in Annamarie Cochrane Rintala’s murder case began and found her guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Rintala is currently on bail and living with her family in Rhode Island.
However, the case took another wild turn in 2021 when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court overturned her conviction. The court released her from prison on bail. Two years later, the court denied the appeal to dismiss murder charges against Cara and gave the permission for another trial. In 2023, a fourth trial in Annamarie Cochrane Rintala’s murder case began and found her guilty of voluntary manslaughter. As of now, Cara Rintala is on bail and living with her family in Rhode Island.
