After less than a day of deliberations, the jury found that a man accused of raping and murdering a child in Putnam County nearly three decades ago not guilty. NBC New York’s Sarah Wallace reports.
Wrapping deliberations in less than a day, jurors delivered a not guilty verdict in the retrial of a New York man accused as a teenager of raping and murdering a child nearly three decades ago.
Andrew Krivak gave a sigh of relief Monday after being exonerated of the most notorious crime in Putnam County history: the rape and murder of 12-year-old Josette Wright. Investigators found Josette's body bound and gagged in the woods in November 1995 -- 13 months after her mother reported the girl missing.
"At some point you have to have faith in the people to see things for what they are, and that's what happened," Krivak said outside the courthouse.
The verdict marks a huge legal loss for Putnam County District Attorney Robert Tendy, who tried the case himself. The defense argued this was a prosecution fueled by tunnel vision, relying on a conspiracy of corrupt cops.
Krivak, now 45, signed a statement after seven hours of interrogation by Putnam County Sheriff’s officers: A confession that helped convict him. In court testimony over the years, the two lead Investigators have always maintained the words were Krivak’s alone.
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In July 1996, cops charged Krivak and his best friend, Anthony DiPippo, with the crime. They were convicted the next year in separate trials.
Investigators, then and now, primarily relied on a teen named Denise Rose, who testified she was in a van with DiPippo and Krivak when they assaulted and then killed Josette. Over the years, Rose has changed some details of her story — several times in written statements and in sworn testimony.
DiPippo won freedom and a $14.9 million civil court settlement after a jury acquitted him in a third trial in 2016. His defense team uncovered evidence that pointed to another suspect in Josette’s murder: Robert Gombert, who now serving time in Connecticut for a child sex crime there. He has denied any criminal wrongdoing, but that potential link helped Krivak get his conviction overturned in 2019.
Krivak’s conviction was overturned in 2019 and he was released on bail the next year, but remained under house arrest, until Monday.
DiPippo came to the courthouse to hear the verdict.
"This is a full exoneration of the both of us. Now, 24 jurors have found us innocent and I'm just looking forward to seeing my man move on with his life," DiPippo said.
Tendy, the district attorney, still believes Krivak to be guilty -- a stance he reiterated outside the courthouse.
"The jury has spoken. We have to respect their decision," Tendy said.
"It's a disgrace, it's a waste of taxpayer money. And it makes a joke of what should be happening in this courthouse," Karen Neuwirth, Krivak's defense attorney, said.
Josette's family was in court throughout the trial, but left when the verdict was announced and declined to speak with reporters.
