After more than 20 years, Andrew Krivak, a man convicted of the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in Putnam County, has been acquitted by jurors during his second trial linked to the case. Krivak was originally found guilty in 1997, along with his co-defendant and friend, Anthony DiPippo. However, DiPippo was acquitted of the same crime in 2016 after three trials.
Krivak was found not guilty of the attack after spending more than two decades behind bars. The young girl, Josette Wright, went missing in 1994 and was found dead 13 months later. Krivak and DiPippo were arrested in July 1996 for one of the most shocking crimes ever to take place in Putnam County.
Krivak’s attorney, Oscar Michelen, stated that since jurors found him not guilty of first-degree rape, they were not required to vote on the murder charge. Michelen argued that Krivak’s initial confession was coerced and that there were multiple points of reasonable doubt during the seven-week trial.
The defense team highlighted that the young girl was seen alive by two people after police claimed she was already dead. The defense also pointed the finger at Howard Gombert as the possible perpetrator, a convicted sex offender who preyed on victims around the same time Wright was killed.
Putnam prosecutors relied on Krivak’s confession and a witness who said she saw Krivak and DiPippo rape a tied-up Wright and dump her body in the woods. The defense argued that the witness, former friend Denise Rose, was fed a story by detectives and lied.
District Attorney Robert Tendy, who helped prosecute the case, reportedly denied investigators coerced Krivak or witnesses in his closing argument and said there was no evidence that Gombert committed the crime.
After the verdict was read, Krivak expressed his gratitude to the jury for “seeing the truth and coming back with a not guilty verdict.” DiPippo, who clinched a $12 million settlement from Putnam County in 2020, was also present in the courtroom and stated that he needed to hear the verdict.
»Andrew Krivak is acquitted by jurors during his second trial«
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