NORTHAMPTON — The third murder trial for a former Granby woman accused of killing her wife in March 2010 is expected to begin Tuesday with jury selection.
Prosecutors allege that Rintala killed her wife, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, in their Granby home. Her body was found at the bottom of the basement stairs, covered in paint. The medical examiner’s report states she died of strangulation and that she also sustained blunt force trauma.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Hampshire Superior Court and is expected to last roughly one week, said First Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Steven Gagne. An estimated 254 prospective jurors will be reviewed.
While Rintala faces a murder charge, jurors in the third trial may be allowed to consider a lesser charge of manslaughter. Prosecutors asked Judge Mary-Lou Rup in July to consider instructing jurors that they have this option in deciding a verdict.
Gagne said then that Rup’s decision likely would not come before the trial.
Two previous trials, in which jurors were permitted only to consider whether Rintala was guilty of first-degree murder, ended with juries unable to reach a verdict.
A manslaughter conviction does not require a determination of premeditation.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com or 413-585-5234.