She is petitioning for DNA testing on the nail fragment that was found on the victims body. DNA TRAIL IN 2-YEAR-OLD SLAYINGS OF WOMAN, BABY LEAD TO ARRESTAssociated PressJun. Suzanne Pearson testified about Rorrer's reaction to the news that she was being charged and about incriminating statements she allegedly made.Those statements were made shortly after 6 a.m. while Rorrer, still in bed clothes, held her 1-1/2-year-old daughter, Nicole, and talked to the wailing baby, according to the witnesses.Coble said Rorrer was crying and trying to comfort her child. Police treated Joann's car as a potential crime scene, and their investigation turned up several blonde hairs on the head rest. The murders initially made James,calledJimmy, a suspect because, as we know from countless otherForensic Files, the spouse did it. 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. Rorrer said she was almost 500 miles away in North Carolina on the day of the disappearance. Then her tone will change to icy and you will be informed that since its an old case, someone will have to take the time to search through the archives. At the trial, prosecutor Michael McIntyre alleged that Patricia remained obsessed with Andrew Katrinak long after their breakup despite testimony that shed had many boyfriends and live-in lovers to occupy her bandwidth. But thats just some of the ammo on Team Patricias battleship. Rorrer, who is Katrinak's former girlfriend, was convicted of abducting Joann Katrinak and her son from their home, shooting Katrinak in the face, and leaving her and the child in the woods, where their bodies were found nearly four months later. not three days before it to tell him she had won a national horse competition in Oklahoma. He wanted to move to Colorado and she was against it.. If I were to challenge all the so-called evidence in the comments, it would make for a very long read. Book her. 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. Joann Katrinak - Generation Why Podcast ``There was no rush to judgment. Pal stays true. There were no love letters, cards, gifts, or any other indication that she still had a romantic interest in him. Lists. In 1998, Caleb Fairleys parents settled a lawsuit filed by Lisas mother and Jimmy Manderach for $1.6 million. Coble later told Rorrer that her mother was on the way and that she could get dressed. Until WCJN has thought that the hair was planted but the FBI has just released a report detailing unscientific and fraudulent analysis of hair samples in criminal cases. FROM THE ARCHIVES: Jury rejects alibi, finds Rorrer guilty in double Joann bore a strong resemblance to Lisa Manderach. She returned to New Jersey in 1984, met Andrew Katrinak, and later lived with him.At some point she also lived in Pennsylvania's Lehigh County, Steinberg said.``She was very familiar with the remote location where the bodies were discovered,'' he said. I do rejoice when I learn of someone particularly on death row exonerated. Weak wages. The 26-year-old was recently married, and this would be four-month-old Alex's first Christmas. Andrew mentioned to police that his former live-in girlfriend Patricia Rorrer once managed a horse stable two miles from the bodies location and would have been familiar with the riding trails close to the murder scene. I found it necessary to document each time an episode featured one of these. On the other hand, the judicial system rarely takes kindly to anyone who kills a mother orchild, or both. Of course, its not if such forensic evidence that is or may have been exculpatory has been maladministered by accident or design. Oddly, the test results on the DNA from the cigarette butt was the deciding factor for me: thats when I KNEW the evidence had been compromised. 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 charges were later dismissed.In early 1995, Rorrer was arrested for shoplifting at a Linwood Wal-Mart, according to police records. . Lisa Manderach's Murder - Forensic Files Now 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. Patricia demonstrated a habit of making almost daily, long-distance phone calls from her home in North Carolina. S2E02: The Murders of Joann and Alex Katrinak - Part 01 ~~~~~~~~~Rorrer's Reputation: `Don't Mess With Me', June 25, 1997 by DAVID WASHBURN, The Morning Call. Frankly, Im astonished anyone would question her guilt (except those who can make money by writing books doing so)! Burke said the prosecution brought no one from North Carolina to testify that Rorrer wasn't home for several days..McIntyre said Rorrer tried to conceal her guilt by concocting phony alibis, which shows consciousness of guilt. 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. Barry Grube, one of the few, if not only, police officers sympathetic to Patricias cause, noted that Andrew didnt seem particularly frantic while authorities searched desperately for his wife and son. It seems strange that Patricia would just pick up and drive 500 miles to see and ex-boyfriend from years ago on a whim, leaving her own one-year-old daughter at home in North Carolina. Thanks for responding, Marcus. Someone with a life sentence has nothing to lose throwing any spanner in the works that might, as they see it, cast doubt even if the spanner has the opposite effect! Great catch. This was one of. . For this week, I looked into the defenders reasoning as well as Patricias whereabouts today. She worked at restaurants and later sold insurance and real estate and worked at a car dealership in Reading.She met Katrinak in May 1984, she said, when he was a regular at a restaurant where she worked.They dated, lived together and bought a home in Salisbury Township. The Worldwide Womens Criminal Justice Networks website also points to a bombshell: In 2015, the Justice Department acknowledged that most of the team members from an FBI microscopic hair comparison unit gave prosecutors flawed data from 1980 to 2000 that could have unjustly contributed to a number convictions including Patricia Rorrers. Joann Marie O'Connor Katrinak (1968-1994) - Find a Grave Memorial Barbara, wife of Gary Verser of Virginia; and a . A CLUMP of hair would be more significant as if pulled out. Patricia had of course not registered that night. The guy was banging at the door and yelling open this door. And then, he yelled something like What do you mean its not my kid? Traupman said in a sworn statement.A neighbor of the Katrinaks told police she saw Joann Katrinak that afternoon, clad in a black, furry jacket that matched Traupmans description. The trio were all dark and striking. Chain of custodyScientists from the Pennsylvania StatePolice tried to perform mitochondrialDNA tests on the six hairs from the Toyota,which were immediately collectedand logged. Despite previous testimony that said all of the hair was destroyed or untestable, the latest test results revealed a hair discovered on the drivers side seatback of the car matched Rorrer.The results are disappointing, Neely said. Andrew Katrinak - YouTube And because of the gun jamming, the assailant had to resort to blunt object and beat her about the head. She and Andrew Katrinak shared a house in Salisbury Township in the mid-1980s, when he was a self-employed contractor and she was a real-estate agent. So after a stressful afternoon of kidnapping and murder, she decides to relax with a nice soothing cigarette right there at the crime scene. Joanns first husband, New Jersey construction worker Michael Jack, who had reportedly abused her during their marriage, also had a solid alibi. After relocating to Pennsylvania, Patricia met the 6-foot-2-inch Andrew in a restaurant. They theorize that Andrew Katrinak framed Patricia and that the hostile phone call between Patricia and Joann actually took place not on Dec. 12 as Andrew said but rather on Dec. 7. Lisa Agostinelli Manderachlost her life because the aforementioned Dungeons and Dragonsenthusiast, one Caleb Fairley, age 21, reportedly considered her the embodiment of beauty hed been wantingto seize. What IS reasonable doubt and what is it to be at or beyond that threshold? Fortunately, investigators found glaring evidence of Fairleys guilt within days of the murder and built a case so solid that the attackerended up sentenced to two consecutivelife terms for two counts of second-degree murder. I agree with you that in most cases claiming law enforcement conspiracy is a bit of stretch and mostly unfounded. The Generation Why Podcast: E349: Joann Katrinak She also did volunteer work for Meals on Wheels. Unicorns and getting really buff can be equally fantastical. And even prosecutor Michael McIntyre, who wrote the book Hair Trigger about the case, acknowledged to Keith Morrison that it was a little odd that the police found blood on the hairs in Joanns car but nowhere else in the vehicle. Patricia had won a prize at an out-of-state horse-riding competition less than two weeks before the murders, and she allowed herself to be photographed. Not sure if i shopped here ever. Later, they both worked 12-hour graveyard shifts at a textile factory. The first round of testing done on the hair (pre-trial) indicated only that Rorrer was a potential source of the hair (odds of 1 in 37,000not exactly proof positive). Charles Robert, the 3-month-old son she had with Gary Gabard, died of sudden infant death syndrome; Patricia found him blue in his crib. And, I was quite angry with the police, that they accused Andy. But lets say for arguments sake that she was a closet smoker and no one knew. Prior to the trial, a local man named Walter Traupman told Pennsylvania State Police he saw a couple matching the Katrinaks descriptions engaging in a heated argument near where the Toyota was found the day of the disappearance. In 1986, she met and began a relationship with Andrew Katrinak. One she was at a tanning salon. Whether she suffocated him or left him to die of exposure, there's a special place in hell for someone who's able to live with themselves after such a heinous crime. Frankly, Im neither surprised nor impressed by their decision. I really never thought of it again.. In fact, she had moved 500 miles away and was in a new relationship herself. 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. Here in UK juries are now being instructed to be satisfied that they are sure of guilt, with surety not being as high as certainty. Theremaining three were sent to the FBI.A subsequent report states the FBIcould not test the hairs because they werecontaminated by someone who touchedthem during the collection process,rendering them scientifically worthless.Despite those reports, state police without recording the chain of custody inany record that has been revealed incourt said they sent all of the evidenceback to the FBI for more testing.While three of the six hairs weredestroyed in previous tests and twoearlier reports revealed no roots fortesting could be found in the others, nowa FBI analyst not only discovered roots totest on the hair samples, but also latermatched them to Rorrer.The new DNA tests, combined withwhat prosecutors said was evidence thatshe was trying to conjure up an alibi Rorrer said she was simply trying todocument her movements in NorthCarolina that day ended with her arrestin the double murder.It was the first time she would facecriminal charges. Fantasy. But Patricia had moved from Pennsylvania years ago, and she'd started her own family in North Carolina. Strands of the accuseds dyed-blond hair at two crime scenes proved it. "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. PICTURES: Patricia Rorrer and the murders of Joann and Alex Katrinak they will get on the band wagon to the state convention in Hartford and root for David Fitzgerald of .New Haven for governor and Thomas J. Spellacy of Hartford, for United States Senato. People . Theyd fit well in a made-for-TV movie, wouldnt they? Hecame from an affluent family, is white, and was young when he committed his crimes all factors that can favorably tip the scales of justice. Still, Shopping Spree,theForensic Filesepisode about the murders, left me curious about an epilogue for Fairley. Her husband, Andrew, was surprised to not find his wife and child at home after arriving there after work. Because it was parallel parked in a tight spot something his daughter was unable to do he concluded his daughter could not have put it there.While there was no trace of violence, police would find six hairs on the passenger headrest of the Corolla. One she was out buying feed for horses. Finally, four months after that dreadful day in December, a farmer plowing his fields found what at first seemed to be a pile of discarded clothing. Counsel for the 52-year-old woman convicted in 1998 argues evidence handling calls for new attention, reports say. ~~~~~~~POLICE ARREST WOMAN IN 3-YEAR-OLD CASE OF SLAIN MOTHER AND CHILDAssociated PressJun. Autopsy 6: Secrets of the Dead (TV Movie 1999) - IMDb They had a son, Alex Martin, in August of 1994. They released a poster of Joann and Alex, noting that the baby had almond-shaped blue eyes, weighed 18 pounds, and was circumcised. Its proximity to the stable she'd managed made an undeniable association to her. http://articles.mcall.com/1998-03-06/news/3183202_1_mcintyre-defense-lawyer-killed/2, Motive Made Focus Of Rorrer Case Closing Prosecution, Defense Agree It Doesn't Make Sense. She received 12 months' probation.Rorrer was 18 when she lost her 3-1/2-month-old son on Nov. 20, 1982. The fact she no longer has that gun "is almost as good as having the weapon," McIntyre said..To believe Rorrer's testimony, he said, jurors would have to reject testimony of 22 prosecution witnesses, whom she said were mistaken in their recollections of events.."Either she's guilty or she's the most unlucky person who's ever walked on this Earth," McIntyre said..The killer, he said, would have to have the same DNA as Rorrer, the same color and length of hair, the same gun, the same knowledge of the Katrinak home and the woods, and have a reason to kill Joann Katrinak. Its definitely getting rougher every day, Andrew told the Morning Call. Patricia Rorrer was a cold woman. If shes the killer, then she would know full well that the cigarette butt was hers and the DNA would match. An infant was lying face down on her stomach. Were asked to accept that she was framed viz hair DNA not just that error was made and that the cigarette butt at the bodies location with her DNA on its filter is either of no significance, is another error, or was planted to frame her (notwithstanding that this is a location she knew well per horse-rides). Men who murder are conventional, women are sensational, posits the Worldwide Womens Criminal Justice Network. He disposed of the little girls body in Valley Forge National Park, where hikers soon discovered it. Yes Marcus, Ive read all that. It was conceivable that Andrew believed they were still out. Andrew Katrinak reported missing his wife, Joanne and 3.5-month-old son, Alex, in December 1994. For more on the Katrinak murder case, you can watch Autopsy Six: A Fatal Attraction for free on YouTube. The farmer's remote field bordered an isolated horseback riding trail. Enter memorial Id . Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. Her husband, Andrew, was surprised to not find his wife and child at home after arriving there after work. The series was produced by Joe Berlinger, who made the Paradise Lost documentaries, which garnered actor Johnny Depps attention and ultimately helped free the West Memphis Three. 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. Patricia Rorrer is formerly from Linwood, North Carolina, and serving a life sentence in the state prison for women at Muncy, Pennsylvania. They broke up in 1993. But fortunately the murder createdplenty of forensic evidence that made for a stronger case against Fairley. Andrew Joseph Katrinak (1926-2015) - Find a Grave Memorial