Woman who pleaded guilty in fiance's kayak death: 'I have to let it go'
Courtesy Angelika Graswald
Angelika Graswald  was facing the possibility of a life sentence nearly three years ago. But four days before Christmas 2017   she  walked out of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York state  focusing on rebuilding  her  life.
 Graswald  made headlines when  she  was charged with murder in the second degree and manslaughter in the second degree in the drowning of  her  fiancÃ©  Vincent Viafore. She pleaded not guilty.
The then 35-year-old was living with Viafore in Poughkeepsie  New York. Both had been married before. They planned to tie the knot on a beach on the Baltic Sea in  her  home country  Latvia.
Courtesy Angelika Graswald
On their return back across the river several hours later   Graswald  said Viafore  who wasnât wearing a life jacket  capsized in the rough waves and drowned. Prosecutors claimed  Graswald  was responsible for his death because  she  had removed a connector ring from his paddle and the drain plug from the kayak.
After an 11-hour police interrogation   Graswald  was arrested.  She  was officially indicted for second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in May 2015 after Viaforeâs body was recovered from the river  and pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Weeks before the case was set to go to trial   Graswald  reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to the lesser felony charge of criminally negligent homicide in July 2017  in which  she  admitted  she  should have perceived the risks associated with being out on the water that day.
On Nov. 8  2017   Graswald  was sentenced to one and a half to four years in state prison  the maximum allowed for criminally negligent homicide  in Vincent Viafore's death.  She  was released from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women the following month after serving just over two and a half years behind bars.
 Graswald  has always maintained  she  never intended to kill Viafore.
 Her  defense attorney  Richard Portale  says Viafore was also responsible. Portale told 20/20  âI'm not here to blame Mr. Viafore for his own death  but the truth is  he wasn't wearing a life vest. He wasn't wearing a wet suit. He didn't have a spray skirt  which would've kept the water out of that cockpit.
[TGT]  Graswald  was facing the possibility of a life sentence nearly three years ago. But four days before Christmas 2017    [TGT]   walked out of Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York state  focusing on rebuilding   [TGT]   life.
 Graswald  made headlines when  she  was charged with murder in the second degree and manslaughter in the second degree in the drowning of  her  fiancÃ©  Vincent Viafore. She pleaded not guilty.
The then 35-year-old was living with Viafore in Poughkeepsie  New York. Both had been married before. They planned to tie the knot on a beach on the Baltic Sea in  her  home country  Latvia.
Courtesy Angelika Graswald
On their return back across the river several hours later   Graswald  said Viafore  who wasnât wearing a life jacket  capsized in the rough waves and drowned. Prosecutors claimed  Graswald  was responsible for his death because  she  had removed a connector ring from his paddle and the drain plug from the kayak.
After an 11-hour police interrogation   Graswald  was arrested.  She  was officially indicted for second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in May 2015 after Viaforeâs body was recovered from the river  and pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Weeks before the case was set to go to trial   Graswald  reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to the lesser felony charge of criminally negligent homicide in July 2017  in which  she  admitted  she  should have perceived the risks associated with being out on the water that day.
On Nov. 8  2017   Graswald  was sentenced to one and a half to four years in state prison  the maximum allowed for criminally negligent homicide  in Vincent Viafore's death.  She  was released from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women the following month after serving just over two and a half years behind bars.
 Graswald  has always maintained  she  never intended to kill Viafore.
 Her  defense attorney  Richard Portale  says Viafore was also responsible. Portale told 20/20  âI'm not here to blame Mr. Viafore for his own death  but the truth is  he wasn't wearing a life vest. He wasn't wearing a wet suit. He didn't have a spray skirt  which would've kept the water out of that cockpit.