This had been taken just 11 days before Joann's disappearance. Puny policy. But by all accounts, Rorrer only spoke to Andrew Katrinak once or twice a year. "Rorrer was born in Phillipsburg. Shes a desperate woman wed all be desperate and should be expected to say anything, even if it backfires. Her family moved to North Carolina in 1978 but returned to the area in 1984. Joann Katrinak - Generation Why Podcast http://articles.mcall.com/1998-03-06/news/3183202_1_mcintyre-defense-lawyer-killed/2, Unreliable Chain: Questionable Hair Evidence Condemns Woman to Prison, FBI admits flaws in hair analysis over decades - The Washington Post. He had worked as a semi-pro boxer in Las Vegas in his youth and later settled into his own construction business. DNA tests In 13-year-old Murder Case Could Be ReexaminedMar 21, 2007. As for an epilogue on ex-flame Andrew Katrinak, he has moved to Colorado and kept a low profile since the trial ended. Patricia Rorrer's home phone record did not show her call to the Katrinak house three days prior to the kidnapping because she'd already made the trip to Pennsylvania to see Andrew. Ive fought 10-plus years, hard, and may or may not win, Rorrer wrote in an October 2008 letter to the Innocence Institute of Point Park University. While the newly discovered evidence was included in her appeal, it has always focused on the contradictory hair tests and wide gaps in paperwork on the chain of custody in hair evidence. Unbloody vehicle. As of at least 2012, he was trying to have his convictions vacated and get a new trial following a Supreme Court decision that deemed life sentences without parole for juvenile offenders unconstitutional. 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 . New state, new man. Her mother, Patricia Chambers, provided day care for their baby son, Charles. Andrew Katrinak reported missing his wife, Joanne and 3.5-month-old son, Alex, in December 1994. 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. Convicted of murdering her ex-boyfriends wife and child because of a telephone impropriety. But she continued to call him occasionally.Three days before she vanished, Mrs. Katrinak angrily told Ms. Rorrer over the phone to stop calling her house, according to a police affidavit.DNA analysis showed that hair samples Ms. Rorrer submitted matched six found in the headrest of Mrs. Katrinak's car and two found near the bodies. Patricia demonstrated a consistent habit of long-distance calls from home, then had an obvious gap while claiming she. Its doors were locked, but the keys were inside the vehicle. Andrew Katrinak Obituary (2015) - Bethlehem, PA - Morning Call - Legacy.com The episode claimed the jury required just two hours to deliberate, but other sources indicate it took six. DNA TRAIL IN 2-YEAR-OLD SLAYINGS OF WOMAN, BABY LEAD TO ARREST. . And she would just call out of the blue., According to the Free Patricia Rorrer page on Facebook:I called him to let him know that I was going to the USA finals for a horse show. Three days before she vanished, Mrs. Katrinak had angrily told Ms. Rorrer to stop calling her husband. I dont have any reason to believe that Fairley might have been in the Catasauqua area in December of 1994. Four months after Joanns disappearance, farmer Paul Kovalchik reported seeing what at first looked like a pile of clothes on his land in Heidelberg Township woods, about 15 miles from the Katrinaks house. Joann Katrinak, and her baby, had planned to go Christmas shopping with her mother-in-law but she never arrived to pick her up despite calling to say that she was on her way there. Finally, maybe not a conspiracy but rather a botched investigation and forensic analysis of the hair sample. Those who knew Joann pointed out that she didnt like to drive in reverse and would have never parked that way. Together they had a baby girl, Nicole. In general, I wouldnt be so hasty to assume a link between perverted, well, whatever it was he had in his possession, and criminality. When Rorrer was granted the right to do post conviction DNA testing on the nail, it was discovered that the nail had been cleaned of the blood and tissue, rendering it essentially useless for further testing. WHY? Jury Now Must Decide Whose Argument Does.March 06, 1998by DEBBIE GARLICKI, The Morning Call. There was a piece of a fingernail found attached to Joanns chest. Testimony began with her birth in January 1964 in Phillipsburg, N.J.She told jurors about the jobs she held, the men she dated, her involvement with horses, their training and competitions, and the different places she lived in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.Rorrer, dressed in a black suit and white blouse tied at the neck, cried once when she testified about being beaten by a former boyfriend in 1991. That day I was at the Dunkin Donuts too. "They were skin and bones and totally neglected," Eggers said. Apparently it is universally agreed by courts that any hair testing before 2000 might had yieled an incorrect reading. On a secret recording, Patricia asked Jarrett to vouch for her attendance or she might go to the electric char. That may be true, in that Alex may have died of exposure, not intentional killing. Im not persuaded in this case it applies but then what do I know other than what I read? 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. Joann Marie O'Connor Katrinak (1968-1994) - Find a Grave Memorial September 2020 - Forensic Files Now 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. Her hair color in the picture matched hairs found at two of the crime scenes. Three of them were mountedon slides and sealed in adhesive. The farmer's remote field bordered an isolated horseback riding trail. Andrew described his existence with Joanne and Alex as a little Camelot., Ex-spouse off list. Even though no gun wasever tied to the killing, a firearms experttestified that Joann Katrinaks injuriescould have come from such a weapon. Fantasy. That does not ring true to me. Jimmy had reported Lisa missing when she failed to return home from shopping by dinner time. Patricia knew her gun tended to jam, but she used it anyway. Fairleysargument:The court should have rendered him a minor for sentencing purposes. Patricia defaulted on her mortgage and then returned to North Carolina, where she eventually moved in with a boyfriend named Brian Ward. Should reasonable doubt be defined for the jury or is that to nudge them some unintended direction by lawmakers? "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. Although the prosecution used it as evidence that she was trying to create a false alibi, it actually sounded more like Patricia was simply trying to nail down the facts he had already asserted to her. Christmas was right around the corner, and the biggest shopping center in that tri-county area is the King of Prussia Mall, which is about 54 minutes away from Catasauqua and a stones throw from Fairleys home in Gulph Mills. The prosecution alleged that Patricia called the Katrinaks house from a pay phone in Pennsylvania. Jaime: Thanks for your thoughts. Andrew's annual salary is . For one thing, her mother never asked Sandra Ireland to hide the gun, and she retrieved it on the way home the next day she worked as a bus driver and couldnt take it with her to school. 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. No show. ), And in another bombshell, Joanns good friend Karen Devine said Joann planned to leave Andrew after the holidays. No activity on her bank account or credit cards took place after the day she went missing, so investigators dismissed the theory that she took her child and bolted. Of course anything is possible, but I have studied this case in great detail, and my gut instinct is that Patricia Rorrer never left North Carolina, just as shes always maintained. The episode indicated that Andrew Katrinak informed police that Patricia Rorrer had made the phone call to his home three days before Joann's disappearance. But was Andrew in on this plan? Dedication. Its about what Id expect from Pennsylvania. ; So after a stressful afternoon of kidnapping and murder, she decides to relax with a nice soothing cigarette right there at the crime scene. Overly cynical: you must know that more than a few perps have been caught this way stupid as it is. That barn is about two miles from where the bodies were discovered along a trail in the woods, where a prosecution witness said she rode horses with Rorrer. Tragedy also touched Patricias life. An autopsy revealed Joann Katrinak was shot in the face with a small-caliber handgun and suffered 19 blows to the head. Theres been some debate with regard to a picture of Rorrer shortly before the murders and the color of her hair. And there were dirty blond hairs, approximately 8 inches long, found at the scene. The Irish-Italian girl had full, fluffy dark hair, olive skin, and a pretty face. Advocates for her innocence complain of hype surrounding the case. Region. A year later, she started calling again. 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. Today, Patricia Lynne Rorrer resides in State Correctional Institute at Muncy, a medium and maximum security facility that has the highest rate of cancer of all prisons in Pennsylvania, according to a story from northcentralpa.com. Nailed? How could I explain to my daughter years later that I took a plea for something I didnt do? she said. ``There was no rush to judgment. Daughter of George & Margaret Panik and wife of Andrew Katrinak. (Easy for me to say) but I hope they have. People . Of course, I have no answer to the claim that this was a corruptly prosecuted case, but I would ask that if its as obviously flawed as you suggest, why have appeals failed? 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. She was also accused of breaking into barns, stealing horses, and underfeeding the ones she owned. Incriminating words. She is petitioning for DNA testing on the nail fragment that was found on the victims body. In the warm NC climate, Rorrer was dressed in shorts and a short sleeved T-shirt and had absolutely sign of injury. After relocating to Pennsylvania, Patricia met the 6-foot-2-inch Andrew in a restaurant. The 5-foot-9-inch-tall Patricia was physically strong, no match for 5-foot-4-inch Joann. 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. But its not implausible that Joann Katrinak may have been in Fairleys area during that time period. She currently resides in Cape Girardeau, Mo., where she works as a daily reporter covering the crime beat for the Southeast Missourian newspaper. I think often of this case and hope Caleb Fairly rots in hell! Patricia seemed like the girl next door but all of a sudden, something snapped, Katrinak later told Wrong Man investigators. According to legal documents reported on in the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1998, the Fairleys contended: While the circumstances were indeed horrific, the deaths . Along with Rorrer, Joann Katrinaks ex-husband, Michael Jack, and Andrew Katrinak were suspects for a time. Suspicion initially fell on Joanns husband, Andy, when their bodies were found in woods in Apr 95. Brad Jackson was able to describe what his daughter Valiree was wearing in incredible detail, down to the color of her socks. Of course, its not if such forensic evidence that is or may have been exculpatory has been maladministered by accident or design. After his wife disappeared, she made no attempt to be with him or to see him. If I knew I was going to get caught, I never would have brought you into this world, the arresting officers testified they heard her say to Nicole. The murders initially made James,calledJimmy, a suspect because, as we know from countless otherForensic Files, the spouse did it. There are myriad issues surrounding this case and conviction. 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 she was at a private club. For nine hours on the witness stand, Rorrer denied having anything to do with the killing. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4438028/com-v-rorrer-p/. What you suggest is that law enforcement officers had to lie (about what she allegedly said, for example), AND that DNA was not just poorly/mistakenly administered but corruptly. But were it not for Rorrer, yes, Id look at Fairley. 157K views, 2.2K likes, 116 loves, 110 comments, 285 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The FBI Files: The December 1994 kidnappings of Joann Katrinak and her 4-month-old son, Alex. As for the words exchanged on the call between the two big-haired women, Joann told Andrew that Patricia had used profanity; Patricia said it was the other way around. As to Andrew being the killer, I thought the police acknowledged his cast-iron alibi (but correct me if Im wrong). "She had a reputation of, `You don't mess with me,'" Fonda Kay Eggers told a reporter for the Dispatch of Lexington, N.C. Eggers, a Humane Society investigator and distant relative of Rorrer, filed animal cruelty charges against Rorrer in 1994 after checking on Rorrer's horses. Rorrer said she purchased grain for her horses that day, brought it home and then later went to a bar for western dance lessons with her fianc and another man. memorial page for Joann Marie O'Connor Katrinak (11 Oct 1968-15 Dec 1994), Find a Grave . Advertisement. Sometimes Andrew goes by various nicknames including Andy Katrinak, Andrew J Katrinik, Andrew J Katrinak, Andrew Katrinah and Andrew J Katrinak. When Andrew Katrinak arrived home from work shortly after 6 p.m. on Dec. 15, 1994, he noticed two unusual things. Some issues there, but I aver nothing that seems to undercut/override evidence against her. Joann grabbed her purse, the diaper bag, and their coats against the December chill in Pennsylvania. ~~~~~~~POLICE ARREST WOMAN IN 3-YEAR-OLD CASE OF SLAIN MOTHER AND CHILDAssociated PressJun. Also according to other reports, husband had connections inside police (speculation). 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. 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. 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. When their bodies were found four months later, police sought the clues to find their killer. Inside the locked 1992 vehicle, police discovered some strands of blond hair stained with dried blood. Murder Suspect Breaks Down As Detectives Tell Of Her Arrest: Monday, giving jurors a Cliff Notes version of her life up until the time a Catasauqua woman and her baby disappeared in 1994. wife, because she knew no one else in the area. 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. "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. A newspaper account described Patricia as a soft-spoken, demure woman who had a sweet Southern accent and wore feminine clothes in court. Try to do some REAL digging into this case. Supposedly it was the relationship to this trail and Patricia's managing of the Silver Shadow Farms horse stable just a mile away that first brought Rorrer to detectives' attention. (McIntyre said that Egan ignored Traupman because he was a nut who said that the man he saw arguing with the woman in a car was Hispanic but wearing a fake mustache and a toupee. Im not trying to throw shade at either one of them, but I do find it odd that when police asked Andy if he knew of anyone who lived in the area, he thought of an ex-girlfriend he hadnt been with in over 5 years, but failed to mention his friend, with whom he had much more frequent contact. "She had a reputation of, `You don't mess with me,'" Fonda Kay Eggers told a reporter for the Dispatch of Lexington, N.C. Eggers, a Humane Society investigator and distant relative of Rorrer, filed animal cruelty charges against Rorrer in 1994 after checking on Rorrer's horses. 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. It's shocking to think that Patricia Rorrer, being a mother, could end the life of an infant. 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 . The indications of Patricia's involvement in Joann's and young Alex's disappearance were numerous. 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. Criminals aren't always the smartest folks - this area highlights the common (and reoccurring) mistakes they make. That decision drew public anger, as can be seen inPhiladelphia Daily News letters to the editor published on September 29, 1995. It showed her usually all-brown hair haphazardly highlighted blond. Another former boyfriend said she talked about Andrew frequently and liked to gaze at old photos of him. Many of these are circumstantial, so investigators were grateful for their DNA match from the hair. Patricia was convicted based on her head hairs being found in the victim's car. Conflicting versions. On Oct. 5, 2007, the District Attorney of Lehigh County agreed to allow the testing of the hair found in the Toyota at Orchid Cellmark Laboratories in Dallas. It was love at first sight when Joann O'Connor met Andy Katrinak in the spring of 1992. Hi Marcus, It's as if she had left with young Alex as planned but then somehow simply vanished. were relatively and mercifully swift, mitigating their conscious pain and suffering.. MAC: Thanks. She wasn't aware she had left behind small clues in the woods and in the car, which police believe was used to take the victims to the woods, the prosecutor said..Burke highlighted the prosecution's failure to test another hair -- one found in Joann Katrinak's hand. Shes just extremely happy with Andy, her brother, Michael OConnor, told the media. I cant lose them, he told the media. "Testimony ended Monday with Pfeiffer taking Rorrer up to October 1994 when she came to Pennsylvania from North Carolina to try to sell four of her horses. To answer your question re the testing of the cigarette butt: it was never tested prior to the trial, and one can only speculate as to why it wasnt. Rorrer, who owned horses, excelled at the sport of cattle-penning, loved to drive far and fast, remodeled her own home, and shot guns for the fun of it.Rorrer, when Coble talked about her baby, started discreetly wiping the corners of her eyes, her lower lashes and her nose. After Joann Katrinak, the wife of Patricia's former flame, turned up dead along with her infant son, prosecutors suspected Patricia. Scorned ex lover etc. Unicorns and getting really buff can be equally fantastical. The missing items included Joann's purse, car, both her and Alex's winter jackets, and the diaper bag. Then 31 years old, she had lived a rocky existence. With Marlene Sanders, Jeffrey J. Lewis, Michael Baden, Andrew Katrinak. 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. Fairley also killed Devon, thebaby daughter Lisa shared with husband James Manderach. However, the only record of any call made from Rorrer to the Katrinak household was on Dec 7th. If there were awards for distorted reporting, the Morning Call out of Lehigh, PA would win high honors. Police couldnt determine whether the baby died of exposure or suffocation. Ideally we would achieve certainty; practically we must settle for the exclusion of all reasonable doubt: problematic cos its circular. The main one of course was committing murder of a young woman and her infant son over an argument. Next thing you know, a muscle bound nerd does something dreadful. It seems Patricia's own daughter and baby Alex Katrinak were very close in age. The couple had known each other since Lisa was 10 and Jimmy was friends with her brothers. Joseph Kocevar: Criminal Investigator, - Maj. Robert Werts: Homicide Investigator, Dr. Elizabeth Murray, Forensic Anthropologist, Brad Jackson was able to describe what his daughter Valiree was wearing, Jason Funk's role in Katie Froeschle's murder, Patricia Rorrer has repeatedly appealed for a retrial and exoneration, thoroughly researched article about the Patricia Rorrer case, Donald Ruby jailed for the murder of Edna Posey, Darryl Kuehl take over murder of Paul Gruber, Earl Bramblett murder of entire Hodges family, "the police actually said that, Oh, she probably ran away with someone. In a million years, Joann would never, never have run away. Highly charged case. He wanted to move to Colorado and she was against it.. Are we to believe that Rorrer was still in such a rage 8 days later that she hopped into her van (with a bad universal joint), drove 500+ miles and killed a woman and baby she had never met, without anyone either seeing her in PA or missing her from NC? North America. And yikes, he discovered someone had cut one of the houses phone lines and pried the hinge on the basement door. 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. She made an effort to look perfectly groomed even when she took out the trash, according to her mother, who appeared on Forensic Files. After Joann Katrinak, the wife of Patricia's former flame, turned up dead along with her infant son, prosecutors suspected Patricia. TENTH DISTRICT. 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. Her car was soon located in a parking lot within walking distance of their home. "At one point, Katrinak stayed in North Carolina for several weeks to do a roofing job, and it looked as though they might get back together, Rorrer said. But there was only one day in question, so it feels like Patricia might have been overselling her story. More than 20 years after her conviction, Patricia Rorrer still has advocates working to exonerate her. I was able to email with Patricia via the PrisonConnect platform around Christmastime. Defense requests new hearing in 1994 homicide case not three days before it to tell him she had won a national horse competition in Oklahoma. Random misfortune. It is currently unknown if the Patricia's case was one of these. I was like OK, maybe she was tired, you know with a new baby. Once, when a gun-wielding farmer and his buddy caught Patricia and Gary riding motorcycles on his field, Patricia walked up and got in their faces and argued, Gary recalled to the Morning Call. Testimony from Walter Blalock contradicted Patricias claim that she never had a gun. 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. "A Fatal Attraction" when a wife and her baby disappear hair found . Patricia supposedly still cared for Andrew Katrinak, but murdering his son contradicts this notion. Joann bore a strong resemblance to Lisa Manderach. Weak wages. Her husband, Andrew, was surprised to not find his wife and child at home after arriving there . But, Id like to offer you a challenge. As for the murder weapon, police didnt find a .22 caliber pistol on Patricias property, but an ex-boyfriend claimed that she owned one and it would always jam after one shot. Catasauqua and the PSP will tell you in no uncertain terms that they dont intend to give you squat, and that they dont want anyone digging into this case. Call the court house in Allentown and tell them youd like to request trial transcripts. The authorities charged her with two counts of murder. But if Andrew wanted to find his wife and his son, why on Earth did he wait until 10:30pm before notifying authorities? And the fact that Patricia called Andrew even after he married someone else didnt mean she was still carrying a torch for him, according to one of her friends. If those hairs taken from Joanns car had had a root attached, there would have been no reason for this case to be the first one in the commonwealth to use mitochondrial DNA testing. Facebook gives people the power. So begins a case that features a m. She claimed to have been home during this period how did her defense team justify such a departure from Patricia's norm? Phone records confirmed Patricia placed the earlier call from North Carolina, not Pennsylvania. In December 1994, Andrew Katrinak arrives home to an empty house. According to Pennsylvania State Police, Rorrer met Andrew Katrinak, the husband and father of the victims, in 1986. 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. Police identified the pair as Joann and Alex Katrinak. Investigators discoveredhis DNA under Lisas fingernails, some strands of long dark hairwith the roots attached (suggesting a struggle) in the vacuum cleaner bag at the store, and the babys DNA on thecarpet. Her husband, Andrew, was surprised to not find his wife and child at home . Reconsidering Andrew Katrinak's potential role. Murder Suspect Breaks Down As Detectives Tell Of Her Arrest: `I'm Sorry For Doing This To You,' Patricia Rorrer Allegedly Told Her Infant Daughter.February 18, 1998by DEBBIE GARLICKI The Morning Call.