On December 12, 1994, Joann answered a phone call from a woman shed never met, Patricia Rorrer, her husbands onetime girlfriend. For this week, I looked into the defenders reasoning as well as Patricias whereabouts today. In a million years, she wouldnt do anything to harm that.. She said she did not give the hang up by Joann Katrinak a second thought. Why would somebody tell you, theyre going to fry me, if they didnt do it? Jarrett told Wrong Man. At 10:40 p.m. he calls 911 to report his family missing. But other things Patricia did also seemed strange, especially according to prosecutor Michael McIntyre. It showed her usually all-brown hair haphazardly highlighted blond. were relatively and mercifully swift, mitigating their conscious pain and suffering.. She appears a rather better fit than Fairley, particularly when we remember that in the great majority of murders, victim and perp are known to each-other, per Katrinak-Rorrer. You couldnt fire a second shot. It was, and is, perfectly reasonable to convict without forensic evidence. The Manderachsran a janitorial service on the side. The Free Patricia Rorrer page responds to comments from supporters (How is this even possible that this woman is still in jail?!? Joanns first husband, New Jersey construction worker Michael Jack, who had reportedly abused her during their marriage, also had a solid alibi. BETHLEHEM, PA. BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) _ A woman was arrested in North Carolina on Tuesday and charged in the 1994 slaying of her ex-boyfriend's wife and infant son in Pennsylvania.Patricia L. Rorrer was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of kidnapping in the deaths of Joann Katrinak, 26, and her 3 1/2-month-old son, Alex.Pennsylvania police, with the help of authorities in North Carolina, arrested Ms. Rorrer, 33, in Linwood, N.C. She was jailed without bail pending a court hearing Wednesday to face extradition.Mrs. Read the Washington Post report. 24, 1997. Many of these are circumstantial, so investigators were grateful for their DNA match from the hair. If shes been in a public place, such as a shop, a shed hair from someone else could be picked up on ones clothing and stick to a sweaty palm, etc. Even though Joanne was supposed to take her mother-in-law for Christmas shopping, she never showed up. Four hours is a long time between Andrew getting home from work and calling the police. Curiously, he immediately implicated Rorrer, his ex-girlfriend, even though they hadnt spoken in months and she was living in North Carolina. ), The Wrong Man investigators Ira Todd and Joe Kennedy have some theories of their own. But the public needs to know what our system does or doesnt do.Bridget DiCosmo graduated from St. Johns University in Queens, N.Y., in 2003. By all accounts, Rorrer has never been a smoker. "A Fatal Attraction" when a wife and her baby disappear hair found . She was a 23-year-old beauty just coming out of a bad marriage, and he a handsome and successful business owner 14 years her senior. Then, despite her multiple alibis, she has an inexplicable five-day gap in this pattern. In TV clips, Andrew didnt come off as anguished. Some recurring themes in Forensic Files facinate me. Andrew Katrinak said that Rorrercalled three days before his wife disappeared, but the phone records do not confirm this call.With little objection, prosecutors used the second FBI analysts description of the hair evidence to put Rorrer at the crime scene. Police got a search warrant for Fairleyshome and discovereda great deal of pornography. Perhaps police couldn't get a warrant for a sample of Patricia's hair, the color being inconsistent with the latent hairs found in the car and at the murder scene. The prosecution alleged that Patricia called the Katrinaks house from a pay phone in Pennsylvania. Juries are imperfect: what is stretched circumstantial evidence for you (or me) was evidently not so for that jury. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4438028/com-v-rorrer-p/. There was a piece of a fingernail found attached to Joanns chest. The prosecution painted apicture of a woman so angry after herformer boyfriends wife hung up thephone on her that she drove to Pennsylvania,forced Joann Katrinak and herbaby at gunpoint into the car, then tookthem outside of town and killed them.Witnesses said Rorrer bought a.22-caliber handgun at a yard sale just beforethe murder. Kidnapped and killed? Then 31 years old, she had lived a rocky existence. Her alibi about going to the club, called Cowboys Nitelife, got fuzzy when investigators discovered she hadnt signed the guest book on that day. Even though Joanne was supposed to take her mother-in-law for Christmas shopping, she never showed up. It was later believed that his recollection was keen, since he'd been the one to dress her posthumously. Lenient system? "Yes," Rorrer replied very quietly.Pfeiffer said Rorrer is testifying freely and voluntarily.Jurors, who have heard nearly 100 witnesses, will be asked by the prosecution to give Rorrer the death penalty if they find her guilty of first-degree murder.McIntyre earlier said that Rorrer's alleged lies and contradictory statements to police show "consciousness of guilt. Cover-up. Andrew Katrinak was suspected because he failed two polygraph tests when asked if he had lied to police and hid evidence. Another former boyfriend said she talked about Andrew frequently and liked to gaze at old photos of him. Patricia was convicted based on her head hairs being found in the victim's car. Pretrial and trial reporting is listed below: Rorrer's Reputation: `Don't Mess With Me'. If Rorrer beat her to death with a .22 caliber pistol like the prosecution claimed, she would have to have been up close and personal, but yet she came away without so much as a scratch? Finally, the evidence had been exposed to the elements for who knows how many months. Random misfortune. Wish me luck! Brad Jackson was able to describe what his daughter Valiree was wearing in incredible detail, down to the color of her socks. An exterior door to their basement had been wrenched open, the lock hasp's screws literally ripped from the wall. Frankly, Im astonished anyone would question her guilt (except those who can make money by writing books doing so)! And in a piece of salacious testimony, Patricia Rorrers half sister, Sandra Ireland, said that in May 1995, about six months after the murder, their mother, Patricia Chambers, stopped by the house and asked her to hold onto or hide a gun, or both. During questioning, heclaimed he got them while mosh-pit dancing, although it later came out that he had told friends he got scratched up while rescuing a guywho was being beaten up outside the clothing store. Search is on. Patricias professional life included short-lived gigs as a Century 21 real estate agent and an Oldsmobile salesperson. In December 1994, Andrew Katrinak arrives home to an empty house. 7 Unnerving Facts About the Lindberghs and the Kidnapping, The Lindbergh Kidnapping: Forensic Files Lost Episode, Dawn Fehring: A Missionary Dies Too Young, Daniel and Cynthia McDonnell: Good Cop, Bad Wife. After a very early failed marriage, the 24-year-old Joann scored a new husband in Andrew Katrinak, 38, whom she met at a club. One thing is for certain though: regardless of what color one would describe her hair, it was unequivocally a lot longer than 8 inches. Pfeiffer and Burke claimed that police Sgt. I lived in this area at the time of the sadly disgusting Murder in Collegeville. Leave a comment below, or contact us! That same year, police arrested Calebs father, James Fairley, who owned a pharmacy in Phoenixville, for allegedly providing a customer with the painkiller Darvon illegally. My guiding principle if I were administering criminal law is what is it reasonable to do to establish probative fact and what is it reasonable to believe of those facts (a matter for the jury)? Why? USA. Having said that, to simply answer your question why? Police and FBI being under pressure to solve this highly publicized case, it had already been two years before they arrested Rorrer and case had gone cold. ), And in another bombshell, Joanns good friend Karen Devine said Joann planned to leave Andrew after the holidays. Tragedy also touched Patricias life. Counsel for the 52-year-old woman convicted in 1998 argues evidence handling calls for new attention, reports say. Andrew's second look in and around their home revealed some disturbing clues. When police traveled to North Carolina to interview Patricia about the murders of Joann and Alex, she said that on the day of the homicides, she had visited a feed store, a tanning salon, and a country music club. "I would never of dreamed it in a million years," said Joy Deal, manager of the dealership.After leaving the car dealership, Rorrer worked sparingly as a photographer and lived with her mother and 1-1/2-year-old son in a remote home outside of Linwood. Did investigators look for phone calls between Andrew and Patricia prior to December 11, 1994? Im real immature. "They were skin and bones and totally neglected," Eggers said. She turned a flushed face and red nose away from the visitors' section.Her demeanor during testimony about her baby, who turned 2 last month, was far different from that during the rest of the Lehigh County trial.Earlier, she was dry-eyed as witnesses described the numerous wounds to Joann Katrinak, who had been shot and beaten, and the baby's death from exposure to cold or suffocation. Katrinak and Alex were the wife and child of Andrew Katrinak. And yikes, he discovered someone had cut one of the houses phone lines and pried the hinge on the basement door. Patricia demonstrated a habit of making almost daily, long-distance phone calls from her home in North Carolina. Andrew Katrinak was suspected because he failed two polygraph tests when asked if he had lied to police and hid evidence.If it wasnt for the DNA, I wouldhave had a hard time saying guilty. GEORGE JAMES GATANISJUROR, DISCUSSING AFTER THE RORRER TRIAL THE FACTORS THAT LED TO HIS DECISION.27During the investigation, police took hair samples from several individuals, including Andrew Katrinak, but none matched the headrest hairs. Further, an early FBI report said the hairs found in the car had no roots which contain the DNA suggesting an evidence switcheroo. The phone wire was located at the opposite end of the basement, which was dark. WHY? Rorrer said she had spoken once to Joann before she and Katrinak were married and that Joann seemed friendly when she put Katrinak on the phone.Rorrer said that years ago, she rented a barn in Washington Township for her horses. Testimony from Walter Blalock contradicted Patricias claim that she never had a gun. Incriminating words. Of course Fairley could have committed other murders but there was no sexual assault in the Katrinak case, which appeared motiveless except in attributing Rorrers jealousy. His wife's vehicle was discovered in a parking lot 100 yards away from their house.The bodies of the mother and son were found in April 1995 in a rural, wooded area 15 miles from home. . When their bodies were found four months later, police sought the clues to find their killer. Book her. Along with Rorrer, Joann Katrinaks ex-husband, Michael Jack, and Andrew Katrinak were suspects for a time. Although there was a conviction in that case, there are many troubling aspects and questions surrounding the conviction, and the states theory was probably the silliest thing I ever heard. We found out that he was a real pervert, all kinds of sexual devices and various perverted stuff, District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. told Forensic Files rather triumphantly. He said she did own a firearm, with its serial numbers filed off. Puny policy. It is currently unknown if the Patricia's case was one of these. Rorrer, who had a five-year relationship with Katrinak that ended in 1989, testified that she and Katrinak remained good friends after the breakup, writing letters occasionally and calling each other. After his wife disappeared, she made no attempt to be with him or to see him. ~~~~~~~POLICE ARREST WOMAN IN 3-YEAR-OLD CASE OF SLAIN MOTHER AND CHILDAssociated PressJun. The episode made a special point about locating the photograph of Patricia Rorrer with dyed blonde hair. Andrew described his existence with Joanne and Alex as a little Camelot., Ex-spouse off list. Should reasonable doubt be defined for the jury or is that to nudge them some unintended direction by lawmakers? While theres no evidence to suggest he was unfaithful to Joann, within 6 months of her death Andrew and this woman were openly seeing each other. The appeal argued that substantial documentation of the chain of custody process was at best incomplete and that critical forensic evidence was never tested. December 15th, 1994. Suzanne Pearson fabricated quotes from Patricia including her claim that Patricia said, Im going to the electric chair upon her arrest because a conviction would boost Pearsons career. I agree with Rebecca, and am surprised this was reported: if it was legal, what does it matter? Unicorns and getting really buff can be equally fantastical. Nailed? Andrew had a lady friend who lived less than 4 miles from those woods. No one else from the club testified she was there. For nine hours on the witness stand, Rorrer denied having anything to do with the killing. After Joann Katrinak, the wife of Patricia's former flame, turned up dead along with her infant son, prosecutors suspected Patricia. So tragic. No charmed life. Barbara, wife of Gary Verser of Virginia; and a . Pennsylvania prison inmate is asking for new D-N-A tests in a 13-year-old murder case. After relocating to Pennsylvania, Patricia met the 6-foot-2-inch Andrew in a restaurant. The fixation with a goth ideal is a nice touch. Under cross-examination, she said she didnt believe it was her hair in the Toyota.It took a jury of eight men and four women five hours to find her guilty on counts of kidnapping and first-degree murder. Finally, maybe not a conspiracy but rather a botched investigation and forensic analysis of the hair sample. For more on the Katrinak murder case, you can watch Autopsy Six: A Fatal Attraction for free on YouTube. My husband passed away of a broken heart, Sarah OConnor said on the Montel Williams Show in 2001. RR, Watch the Forensic Files episode on YouTube, Murder in Lehigh Valley: Keith Morrison Reports, 7 Unnerving Facts About the Lindberghs and the Kidnapping, The Lindbergh Kidnapping: Forensic Files Lost Episode, Dawn Fehring: A Missionary Dies Too Young, Daniel and Cynthia McDonnell: Good Cop, Bad Wife. "Like I said, we were still friends," Rorrer said.She testified that she had met a new man and was happy that Katrinak had found someone special. The charges were later dismissed.In early 1995, Rorrer was arrested for shoplifting at a Linwood Wal-Mart, according to police records. Now retired, he declined ForensicFilesNow.coms invitation to spar directly with Patricia via a podcast. Why would someone want to kidnap and murder the young mother? You will also be advised that the transcripts consist of 6500 pages and the cost of copying it runs between $3.00 to $5.00 per pagemeaning you will have to fork over between $19,000 and $32,000 just to see the transcripts. Rorrer was a slim, auburn-haired, 30-year-old photographer and horse enthusiast.Before he called police, family members canvassed nearby neighborhoods, driving around the suburban community of about 7,000 people near Allentown, Pa. Around midnight, Joann Katrinaks father found his daughters Toyota Corolla near a tavern down the street. North America. She was bubbly and likable, not disgruntled, according to friend Kathy Barber, who visited her friend in jail. It was after that round of testing that Rorrer insisted the cigarette butt be tested for DNA, as she was convinced it would exonerate her. Thanks for responding, Marcus. There were no love letters, cards, gifts, or any other indication that she still had a romantic interest in him. Highly charged case. The prosecution insists that Rorrer called the Katrinak household on Dec 13, 1994, two days before Katrinak went missing, and that Joann rudely told her not to call again and hung up on her. Is the system THAT rotten? Joann grabbed her purse, the diaper bag, and their coats against the December chill in Pennsylvania. They allege that the North Carolina resident stealthily drove 500 miles to Pennsylvania and killed out of a sense of deadly indignation. Then, in what has to be everyones favorite part of the episode, police noticed Fairley was wearing beige makeup on his face when they brought him in for questioning. He gave an audio interview to the Wrong Man investigators when they made a surprise visit to his house, but he declined to appear on camera. "I was happy he found somebody," said Rorrer, who sometimes turned in the witness chair to speak directly to the jury.Prosecutor Michael McIntyre contends that Rorrer isn't what she appears. The state made a case fueled by circumstantial evidence and public outrage over the deaths of a modern-day madonna and child. I found it necessary to document each time an episode featured one of these. The trio were all dark and striking. Those who knew Joann pointed out that she didnt like to drive in reverse and would have never parked that way. The couple had known each other since Lisa was 10 and Jimmy was friends with her brothers. The organization purports that if there were awards for distorted reporting, the Morning Callwould win high honors.. Image credit: Episode screen capture from, - Sarah OConnor: Joann Katrinaks Mother, - Det. Still, no good leads materialized. Victims Joann Katrinak Alex Katrinak, 3 months Find-A-Grave: Joann M. Katrinak Woman Held In Catasauqua Killings Man Recalls Day His Wife, Baby Vanished As Katrinak Double-murder Trial Opens . Andrew Katrinak hugs a friend as he emerges from the courthouse after Patricia Rorrer, his former girlfriend, was sentenced to life in prison, March 9, 1998, for the murder of his wife and child 2 . She asked to speak with Andrew, who was home during the call; Joann refused. Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. Police treated Joann's car as a potential crime scene, and their investigation turned up several blonde hairs on the head rest. Police couldnt determine whether the baby died of exposure or suffocation. It seems Patricia's own daughter and baby Alex Katrinak were very close in age. I absolutely accept that in some cases there has been proven prosecutorial misconduct to secure conviction; ditto junk science/incompetence. That decision drew public anger, as can be seen inPhiladelphia Daily News letters to the editor published on September 29, 1995. In fact, she had moved 500 miles away and was in a new relationship herself. For next week, Im researching a bit about Dungeons andDragons and whether any game aficionado or the nature of the pastime itself hasbeen linked to other major crimes. Police found Lisasbody after Fairley agreed to disclose its location in exchange for a promise that they wouldnt pursue the death penalty. On the other hand, the judicial system rarely takes kindly to anyone who kills a mother orchild, or both. Background details that you might want to know about Andrew include: ethnicity is Caucasian, whose political affiliation is unknown; and religious views are listed as unknown. That does not ring true to me. "I'm sorry for doing this to you," Rorrer repeatedly said, according to Coble.He asked Rorrer for the name and telephone number of someone who could take care of the baby, and she gave him her mother's number. Again, this vital piece of evidence was never tested prior to trial. Hi Marcus, Well, that really caught our attention of course.". After his wife disappeared, she made no attempt to be with him or to see him. I do not just blindly accept whatever the courts decide. the couple had moved in together, married, and become the proud parents of a new baby boy they named Alex. Posted: June 22, 2022 Along with Rorrer, Joann Katrinaks ex-husband, Michael Jack, and Andrew Katrinak were suspects for a time. I used to have a crush on Lucy Lawless, from Xena the Warrior Princess. And the alibi she used at trial -- that she was in a country music club with her fiance and his friend -- isn't credible, according to the prosecution. They released a poster of Joann and Alex, noting that the baby had almond-shaped blue eyes, weighed 18 pounds, and was circumcised. Friends and family began looking for Joann and Alex. Patricia defaulted on her mortgage and then returned to North Carolina, where she eventually moved in with a boyfriend named Brian Ward. (We didnt get into the specifics.). Autopsy examines how forensic examiners can help solve crimes. All this culminated in Caleb Fairleys April 1996 conviction fortwo counts of murder, aggravated assault, theft, and abuse of a corpse. Reconsidering Andrew Katrinak's potential role. According to a Morning Call account from March 5, 1998: McIntyre leaned forward conspiratorially like someone trying to persuade another to tell a secret, lowered his voice and said: Heres what I want to know: After you killed Joann Katrinak, did you kill that baby or just leave it to die?. Jury Now Must Decide Whose Argument Does.March 06, 1998by DEBBIE GARLICKI, The Morning Call. One on one? He would be alive today if it were not for Patricia Rorrer. The mild-mannered Sarah died in 2019 at the age of 83. Her husband, Andrew, was surprised to not find his wife and child at home after arriving there after work. Jaime: Thanks. She produced phone records showing a call to Andrew Katrinak two weeks before the abduction not three days before it to tell him she had won a national horse competition in Oklahoma. In North Carolina, she reportedly enjoyed some success as a horse trader, riding instructor, and rodeo competitor. My two cents, just as the heavily stretched circumstantial evidence convicted Rorrer, new uncovered circumstantial and direct evidence should give Rorrer benefit of a doubt and allowed for a new hearing and trial. Great catch. Men who murder are conventional, women are sensational, posits the Worldwide Womens Criminal Justice Network. Patricia seemed like the girl next door but all of a sudden, something snapped, Katrinak later told Wrong Man investigators. He washed off the foundation at their request, uncoveringscratch marks that looked as though they came from someonesfingernails. In the warm NC climate, Rorrer was dressed in shorts and a short sleeved T-shirt and had absolutely sign of injury. Andrew had an ex-girlfriend, Patricia Rorrer, who'd been familiar with the trail, and she'd previously managed a horse stable just a mile from the scene. The Free Patricia Rorrer page points to a sliver of a fingernail found at the murder site that didnt come from either Patricia or Joann. According to court papers from Patricia 2017 appeal, DNA on the cigarette butt found near the two bodies belonged to Appellant. (Prosecutor Michael McIntyre, however, told ForensicFilesNow.com that that the cigarette butt was never actually tested). When Rorrer was initially granted the right to do post conviction testing, the first thing she wanted tested was the butt.
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