After a brief recess, the defense called their first and only witness to the stand. Susan McCardell, the mother of three grown sons, worked as a bookkeeper in Redding, Connecticut. She graduated from Purdue University in Indiana with a bachelor’s degree in math education and earned her MBA at Pace University in New York. In her spare time, she loved to garden and volunteered at various settings, including Bannerman Island, where she had met Angelika.
Portale drew her attention to April 29, 2015. She told the court that she had arrived on the island that morning at 9:15.
“Did you have an occasion to go back to Cornwall Yacht Club again?”
“I did,” Susan said. “Someone called and said Angelika was coming and I didn’t want her to ride alone, so I popped back on the crew boat with the captain and went back to the yacht club.”
“Who did you travel back to the Cornwall Yacht Club with?”
“Just the captain. When we got off, Miss Graswald and a friend of hers were arriving.”
“Okay. What happened next?”
“Well, I greeted her and said that I was sorry and she introduced me to her friend.”
“And can you describe what was Miss Graswald doing, anything at that time that you observed?”
“She was nervous.”
“Was she making anything?”
“She had brought some supplies to make a wreath to honor her fiancé.”
“Were you present at the Cornwall Yacht Club at that time when Miss Graswald had made a phone call to the police?” Portale asked.
“Yes.”
“And did you hear that phone call…?”
“Yes, she had it on speaker.”
“And what happened?”
“She called them and said, ‘Are you coming to—are you coming to…’” Susan paused. “I want to make sure I’m saying it right, the way she said it. ‘Are you coming to my ceremony for Vinny?’ And the response was, ‘We’re going to try to get there. We’re going to try to get there.’ And that was pretty much the conversation.”
She then traveled back to the island with the captain, Angelika, and her friend Katie at about 12:30.
“So, as you arrived on Bannerman’s Island, did you observe anyone on the dock?” Portale asked.
“As we arrived, yes. The detectives were all there and their boats.”
“When you say ‘detectives,’ you mean the New York State Police?”
“I would assume that’s what they were, yes.”
“When Miss Graswald arrived on the dock, did she speak to any civilians?”
“I don’t think there were any. I don’t remember there being any civilians on the dock. All the civilians that I know, I’ll call them volunteers, they were working. They were up on the island.”
“By the way, is Bannerman’s Island a public island?”
“No.… I don’t live in New York. I think it’s a state park now. It used to be privately owned. You cannot go without a tour. It’s not open to the public.”
“So, it’s fair to say that anyone who would have been on Bannerman’s Island that day would have been a volunteer?” Portale clarified.
“Absolutely.”
“… How were the New York State Police dressed?”
“Business casual. Nicely dressed,” she said, contradicting the investigators’ testimony that two of the three had worn jeans and T-shirts.
“And did you observe Miss Graswald disembark from the boat?”
“Yes.”
“Was she smoking a cigarette?”
“Yes, she was.”
“And what happened?”
“They told her to put it out, [that] they’ve been waiting a long time for us.” This definitely didn’t coincide with the investigators’ description of a warm welcome.
“What happened next?”
“We got off the boat and Miss Graswald tried to introduce us to the crew of people, and they didn’t seem to be interested in me. And they went up, it’s a staircase, they followed her up the stairs.”
“What was Miss Graswald’s demeanor at that point?”
“She knew them and she was going to show them the island.”
“Do you recall whether she was carrying a flotation, flowers, for Mr. Viafore?”
“Was she carrying it? I don’t remember,” Susan said. “I know we brought it on the boat. I don’t remember who took it off the boat. It could have been her friend or it could have been, I think—I was a little overwhelmed at seeing this group of police or detectives, whatever they were, and I don’t remember who took it off. I do know it came with us to the island.”
“Do you know any of the police investigators by name?” Portale asked.
“The only one I know by name is his last name, DeQuarto.”
“And can you describe any of the others?”
“That were there? The guy that seemed to be in charge was six feet tall, medium to a little heavy build, dark hair, Italian looking.”
“And did there come a time when you came to observe Miss Graswald sitting on the trail?”
“Yes,” Susan said. “I was there a while and I was walking around, and I heard them speaking so I came down to see what they were doing. And she was there and she was crying and the three men were around her and questioning her and interrogating her.”
Julie Mohl objected to the characterization and the judge ordered that the word “interrogating” be stricken from the record. Portale asked her to describe what she’d observed without using that word.
“They were bullying her, she was crying,” Susan said.
Mohl objected again on the same grounds, but this time she was overruled.
Asked to continue, Susan explained, “It was obvious to anyone that it was not a good situation. She was unhappy and crying. I didn’t want her to be alone and I said, ‘Do you want me to stay with you?’”
“And what happened at that point, if anything?”
“She said, ‘No, it’s okay,’ and the police or detectives said, ‘She really doesn’t need you, it’s okay.’”
“Who said that?” Portale asked.
“I don’t want to guess, but I think it was the big guy. I don’t know his name, sorry.”
“You said that you could hear what was going on … do you remember what the questions were about?”
“‘Why were you here at the building?’ Her response was [that] she was cold, it was getting cold. ‘Why were you taking pictures of that,’ ‘why were you’—again, again, repetitive, repetitive.”
“So, at some point did you then leave?”
“Well, I looked at her and she said, ‘It’s okay,’” Susan said. “They told me it was okay and so I said, ‘Well, I’m here if you need me.’ I walked away, and you can’t go very far. I went back to work. I was just weeding.”
“And about how far away did you go?”
“I’m not very good at distances,” she told the attorney, with an apologetic grimace.
“Just do your best,” Portale assured her.
“A hundred yards. Four hundred yards. Well, a football field is a hundred yards?”
“Yes.”
“I was around the corner, down not very far.”
“Did you continue to hear what was going on?”
“No. I walked away.”
“Did there come a time when you approached again?”
“I came back,” Susan said. “I wanted to see what was going on and I heard more voices as I approached. They were still, she was still crying. It was a little more agitated and I said, ‘Do you want me to stay? Really, I think I should be here with you.’ And she, again, quietly said, ‘No, it’s okay,’ and they said, ‘She’s okay.’ And I just looked at her and said, ‘Are you okay?’ and she said, ‘I’m fine.’ And so, I think she didn’t want to involve me.”
ADA Mohl objected one more time and was sustained. Portale moved on without argument. “So, how many times total did you approach them as they sat on the trail?”
“Three.”
“Did there come a time when Miss Graswald left the island?”
“Yes.”
“About how long after you last approached the group did she leave the island?”
“Half an hour,” Susan estimated.
“Did there come a time later when you spoke to the police?”
“Yes, at the police barracks. I followed the police.”
After another squabble between opposing counsel, the judge sustained the state’s objection. Portale turned the witness over to prosecutor Julie Mohl.