CLOSE Graswald's lawyer speaks after bail hearing 
 
 Angelika Graswald (Photo: Courtesy photo/state police) 
 
 Angelika Graswald, charged with second-degree murder in her fiance's disappearance, told authorities that she tampered with Vincent Viafore's kayak and that as she watched him drown, "it felt good knowing he was going to die," according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. 
 
 A bail hearing was held Wednesday afternoon in the Orange County Court for Graswald, a 35-year-old Poughkeepsie resident, who has been indicted by a grand jury on second-degree murder charges. 
 
 Her lawyer, Richard Portale, requested she be released on her own recognizance. The judge set her bail at $3 million or $9 million bond. Graswald is in Orange County Jail. 
 
 Graswald was beneficiary on two of Viafore's life insurance policies, and stood to gain $250,000 from his death, said Assistant District Attorney Julie Mohl. 
 
 State police shared a photo of the kayaks Angelika Graswald and Vincent Viafore used on the day of his death at a 2015 press conference. Viafore was in the blue kayak, police said. (Photo: State police) 
 
 Graswald and Viafore, a 46-year-old Poughkeepsie resident, left Plum Point in kayaks around 4:15 p.m. on April 19. They kayaked to Bannerman Island, where Graswald was a volunteer, and stayed about two hours, Mohl said. 
 
 When the couple was about two-thirds of the way back, "the victim's kayak filled with water, causing it to capsize," Mohl said. "The victim was holding onto the kayak...he went under water and drowned," around 7:15 p.m. 
 
 Graswald did not call for help until 7:40 p.m., Mohl said. While she was on the phone with 911, Graswald said she could see Viafore, and the call was cut off when she herself capsized, Mohl said. 
 
 Witnesses say they saw Graswald "intentionally" capsized, and when she was questioned about inconsistencies in her statements, "she said she capsized her kayak on purposely," because she wanted authorities to believe she tried to save Viafore, Mohl said. "She stated that she tampered with the victim's kayak...she knew it would contribute to his death." 
 
 Graswald told authorities she "felt happiness and relief" as she watched him go into the water, Mohl said. Graswald said "it felt good knowing he was going to die," and that she felt trapped in the relationship with him. 
 
 Graswald detailed where the equipment could be found, but not Viafore's body, Mohl added. 
 
 State police are still searching for Viafore's body. 
 
 Graswald was also aware that she was the primary beneficiary on two of Viafore's life insurance policies, and "talked about what she could do with the money" after his death, Mohl said. 
 
 Portale said he has reason to believe any statements Graswald made were coerced. 
 
 Graswald, who is originally from Latvia and is in the US with a permanent resident card, is "very confident sounding, so even if she doesn't understand what you're saying, she'll answer in an affirmative tone," Portale said. "She was suffering from hypothermia and the loss of her fiance, and there was a very clear language barrier." 
 
 Police originally said there were inconsistencies in Graswald's statements. 
 
 And there's a big difference between inconsistencies and a confession, Portale said. 
 
 "What's changed that has caused the government to now characterize my client's statements as a confession?" Portale added, "unless we were misled" by police in the first place. "It's all going to come out" and the defense will get "our hands on the statements, and find out whether they were voluntary or forced." 
 
 Despite the $3 million bail, Portale classified the hearing as a "success. The mission today was to find out what, if anything, the indictment was for." 
 
 As for Graswald, Portale said she is "depressed, shes hurting...(but) she's confident that by the time this is over, the truth is going to come out. 
 
 See Thursday's Journal for the full story. 
 
 Angelika Graswald in court at her bail hearing in Goshen on May 13. Graswald has been charged with second-degree murder in disappearance of her fiance, Vincent Viafore while kayaking on the Hudson River. (Photo: Allyse Pulliam/For the Times Herald Record/Photo pool) 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://pojonews.co/1bQ7pLS ||||| Prosecutors at a bail hearing in Orange County, N.Y., on Wednesday said that Angelika Graswald, the woman accused of intentionally drowning her fiancé in the Hudson River last month, had told the police that she tampered with his kayak and had said it “felt good knowing he was going to die.” 
 
 When the police announced the arrest of Ms. Graswald on a charge of second-degree murder, they described what they called “inconsistencies in her statements” that implicated her in the death of Vincent Viafore, whose body has not been found. 
 
 But at the hearing, prosecutors went further, said the district attorney’s spokesman, Christopher Borek, and quoted Ms. Graswald in what sounded more like a confession. 
 
 Julie Mohl, an assistant district attorney, said Ms. Graswald, 35, was aware that she was the beneficiary in two life insurance policies belonging to Mr. Viafore, who was 46. Ms. Mohl said that Ms. Graswald stood to gain $250,000 and “talked about what she could do with the money” after his death. ||||| Angelika Graswald, second from left, stands in court with Michael Archer, left, a forensic scientist, as her attorneys Jeffrey Chartier and Richard Portale, right, ask for bail and to unseal the indictment... (Associated Press) 
 
 GOSHEN, N.Y. (AP) — A woman accused of killing her fiance while out paddling on the Hudson River admitted tampering with his kayak and later confessed "it felt good knowing he would die," a prosecutor said Wednesday. 
 
 Angelika Graswald, 35, has been indicted on a second-degree murder charge in the death of Vincent Viafore in choppy, chilly water on the evening of April 19. Police say he died 50 miles north of New York City near Bannerman Island, a scenic ruin near the east shore where the longtime U.S. resident from Latvia volunteered as a gardener. 
 
 Viafore, 46, was not wearing a life jacket and his body hasn't been found. 
 
 Assistant District Attorney Julie Mohl said at a bail hearing Wednesday that Graswald felt trapped and stood to benefit by $250,000 from life insurance policies. Mohl did not detail how Graswald tampered with her fiance's kayak but said it filled with water and capsized. Viafore held onto his boat for 5 to 10 minutes, but Graswald called 911 some 20 minutes after his kayak capsized. Witnesses say she intentionally capsized her own kayak, Mohl said. 
 
 "She felt trapped and it was her only way out," Mohl said. 
 
 Graswald was rescued by another boater and treated for hypothermia. 
 
 She later told investigators that she felt relief and "it felt good knowing he would die," Mohl said. 
 
 The judge set bail for Graswald, who appeared in court in shackles and an orange jumpsuit, at $3 million cash. 
 
 After the hearing, defense attorney Richard Portale noted the language barrier between Graswald and investigators. He said he would look into whether her statements were voluntary. 
 
 "I'm skeptical of the statements," he said. 
 
 Since her arrest almost two weeks ago, those who know Graswald have been trying to square the fun-loving woman they knew with the killer described by authorities. 
 
 "The bubbly, bouncy little ballerina girl had a dark side," said Mike Colvin, a disc jockey in Poughkeepsie she lived with from November 2008 to June 2010. Still, he never saw Graswald act in a way that suggested violence. 
 
 Graswald could walk into a room full of strangers and know everyone's name by the time she left, Colvin said. But he said he also had authority issues and could make unwise snap decisions when angry. She had run through two marriages and a string of jobs by her mid-30s. The impulsiveness apparently contributed to her checkered job history at restaurants and other businesses. 
 
 "They would have staff meetings, and she would just lose it, and eventually she'd have to be let go," Colvin said. "This happened more than once. Not a big fan of authority." 
 
 Graswald and Viafore appeared to be a happy couple. 
 
 Images posted online show an active, affectionate pair spending time outdoors, particularly on the water, and a message about their plans to be married at a spot on the Baltic Sea. Sean Von Clauss, a professional musician from Boston who had known Viafore since boyhood, recalls how the couple would affectionately slow dance when he performed "Shama Lama Ding Dong." 
 
 "They were always in love — singing, dancing and holding. They were always together," Von Clauss said. "He was thrilled that he found his soul mate." 
 
 Viafore had a booming laugh and loved to socialize — the kind of guy who would pick up the check, Von Clauss said. 
 
 Von Clauss said he saw Graswald the Friday before her arrest at a gathering to remember Viafore at a bar. She brought a poster board covered with pictures and asked Von Clauss to play "Shama Lama Ding Dong." Usually they would play "Hotel California" together, but she asked him to play solo that night. Then she forgot the words. 
 
 "We all kind of sang along, then she sort of finished it by herself," he said. "We all gave her a big round of applause anyway." 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press researcher Barbara Sambriski in New York contributed to this report. Hill contributed from Albany. 
 
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 Follow Michael Hill on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MichaelTHill ||||| Angelika Graswald, 36, who is accused of second-degree murder in the drowning death of lover Vincent Viafore, 46, told authorities she had tampered with his water craft and watched him drown in the Hudson River on April 19, according to Orange County Assistant District Attorney Julie Mohl.
– In what Angelika Graswald's lawyer considers a suspiciously frank confession, prosecutors testified yesterday that she told investigators she tampered with her fiance's kayak and it "felt good knowing he was going to die." Assistant District Attorney Julie Mohl told a bail hearing that Graswald felt trapped in her relationship with Vincent Viafore and stood to gain $250,000 from life insurance policies, the AP reports. According to Mohl, Viafore managed to cling to his boat for up to 10 minutes after it capsized on their April 19 voyage on the Hudson River, but Graswald didn't place a call to 911 until 20 minutes after the capsizing—and witnesses saw her deliberately capsize her own kayak. Bail was set at $3 million, the New York Daily News reports. After the hearing, Graswald's lawyer said there seemed to be "a really big difference" between the "inconsistencies" police spoke of when she was charged with murder earlier this month and the outright confession Mohl spoke of at the hearing, which he thinks may have been coerced, the New York Times reports. Graswald is from Latvia and her lawyer tells the Poughkeepsie Journal there was a "very clear language barrier" when she spoke to investigators. Before the hearing, the lawyer defended some suspicious social media posts and diary entries from his client. Police in Poughkeepsie say a body was pulled from the Hudson River yesterday, but they haven't confirmed it's Viafore, the Times reports.