Woman charged in death of fiance who disappeared while kayaking

A New York woman has been charged in the death of her fiancé who disappeared earlier in April while kayaking on the Hudson River, police said.

The Orange County district attorney’s office said Thursday that 35-year-old Angelica Graswald of Poughkeepsie is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Vincent Viafore.

WPIX TV reported the charges are based on Graswald’s inconsistencies with the story she told the authorities at the time of the incident and what she told them on Wednesday. The details of what she told them have not been revealed.

Authorities allege, due to the changes in her story, that Graswald intentionally killed her fiancé.

Troopers said the 46-year-old Viafore, also of Poughkeepsie, was kayaking with Graswald on the Hudson River on April 19 when the pair encountered rough water, whipping winds and strong currents. The pair were in separate boats.

Police say Viafore’s kayak capsized about 7:30 p.m. and he was not wearing a flotation device.

Investigators say Graswald called 911 but she says that during her attempts to help her fiancé get out of the frigid water, she tumbled out of her own kayak.

Graswald was rescued when a boater found her in the river, but Viafore was nowhere to be seen. Graswald was taken to a hospital and treated for hypothermia.

Viafore’s body still has not been found, police say.