The Massachusetts Appeals Court has affirmed Cara Rintala’s 2023 conviction in the killing of her wife in their Granby home 16 years ago, closing out what is believed to be the first murder case in Hampshire County to be tried four times.
Rintala, now 59, was tried on a murder charge but ultimately convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the March 2010 strangulation death of her wife, Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, 37, in the couple’s Granby home.
Rintala’s first two trials, in 2013 and 2014, ended in hung juries. In 2016, a jury convicted her of murder and she was sentenced to life in prison. The Supreme Judicial Court overturned Rintala’s that conviction in 2021, ruling that the state’s expert witness was not qualified to testify about paint that had been poured at the crime scene. The case was sent back for a fourth trial.
In October 2023, Rintala was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 12 to 14 years in state prison, receiving a 7.5-year credit for time already served.
Rintala appealed that conviction on three grounds, according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s office: that the state improperly used a “discriminatory peremptory challenge” during jury selection; that deliberations in an earlier trial were compromised when a juror blurted out something “extraneous”; and that the trial judge erred by denying a defense request for a specific jury instruction related to a Bowden defense — a legal argument that police failed to adequately investigate other potential suspects.
In its 12-page decision, the Appeals Court rejected all of Rintala’s arguments.
“We have reviewed the judge’s instructions as a whole and discern no errors,” the court wrote. “The judge provided defense counsel with substantial leeway to develop its Bowden defense throughout trial and in closing argument. In short, the defense was not undermined and the argument is unavailing. The defendant received a fair trial.”
According to background information laid out in the court’s decision, police responded to Rintala’s home on the evening of March 29, 2010, after receiving reports of a “possible domestic” crime. An officer heard crying from the basement, went downstairs, and saw Rintala, whom he recognized from her work as a paramedic.
“The officer heard the defendant stating, ‘I can’t believe she’s dead. She’s dead. I can’t believe she’s dead,'” the court wrote. “The responding officer, along with another officer who had arrived at the scene, saw a ‘large amount of what appeared to be wet paint all over the area,’ as well as all over the victim and [Rintala]. The victim’s body was ‘extremely cold,’ and ‘her skin was very rigid and stiff to touch.’ Her face was ‘bluish.'”
“We are pleased that the Appeals Court rejected the defendant’s arguments and reaffirmed her conviction,” First Assistant District Attorney Steven Gagne wrote in a statement. “Our office has been pursuing justice for Annamarie and her family for 15 years now, and we hope today’s decision brings them the peace and closure they have long sought.”
Oral argument was held in Boston on Dec. 4, 2025. Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Von Flatern argued on behalf of the commonwealth alongside Gagne, who prosecuted the case.
Defense attorney Melissa Ramos could not be reached immediately for comment.
