Police couldnt determine whether the baby died of exposure or suffocation. 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. Why would someone want to kidnap and murder the young mother? For more on the Katrinak murder case, you can watch Autopsy Six: A Fatal Attraction for free on YouTube. Patricia Rorrer Age: 51 Sex: FEMALE 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, Earl Bramblett murder of entire Hodges family, Darryl Kuehl take over murder of Paul Gruber, "the police actually said that, Oh, she probably ran away with someone. In a million years, Joann would never, never have run away. after the fact. (We didnt get into the specifics.). He was sentenced to death after being convicted of the brutal torture and murder of a young babysitter named Linda Rodgers in 1984 in Santa Ana, California. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. On Thursday, December 15, 1994, Joann Katrinak and her three-month-old son, Alex, went missing from their Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, home. On December 7, 1994 I called Andy to let him know that me and my team had won the National Championship at a team penning competition in Oklahoma. Of course she did--because all that was out there on me was fake news. Documentary, Drama 2020-2020. In February 2008, Patricia Taylor Allanson, age 70, was arrested and charged with doctor shopping for thousands of pain pills over the past year. She claimed to have been home during this period how did her defense team justify such a departure from Patricia's norm? More hairs there. Detectives from the Davidson County sheriff's office took the witness stand to recall the morning of June 24, 1997, when they knocked on the door of Rorrer's Linwood, N.C., home and told her she . With Chris Anderson, Fatima Silva. "Our position is that Patricia Rorrer's sample hairs were switched with crime scene hair, the hair taken from the seat back of Katrinak's vehicle," Neely said. $4.99/mo. They were hardly decomposed after a mild winter. It's now up to a judge to decide whether to allow that information, as well as information questioning the validity of hair samples that helped put Rorrer behind bars. Joann had been shot once and then beaten over the head (presumably because the gun used only shot once). But defense lawyer Robert Pfeiffer said that plenty of evidence supported Patricias innocence. A few eyewitnesses who didnt testify at her initial trial also back her statements of being in North Carolina on that fateful day, but nothing has been proven. My case in a nutshell is this: I was convicted on a DNA match made to the root of a hair found in the victim's car which was located 15 miles from the crime scene. The first, Vonda Smith, was convicted of murdering her grandchilds mother, 21-year-old Jessie Morrison. Shes just extremely happy with Andy, her brother, Michael OConnor, told the media. During these 4 years, many in the Lehigh Valley, PA community developed opinions on the case. Patricia denied owning a .22 caliber pistol (the type of gun used to kill Joann). Nickelodeons Kids Choice Awards: What Is Slime, and Why Do We Love It? They had a son, Alex Martin, in August of 1994. I wonder if any of Alex's pediatrician records still exist after all this time. Thats my life.. But none of those charges ever stuck. Docket at pp. They initially thought Joann's husband Andy may have committed this crime, so they didn't check into Patricia's story of being in a dance class during the time of the kidnapping. further reading: True Detective Season 3 and the West Memphis Three. I knew when Joann was pregnant and although surprised because Andy had once told me he didn't want children and wasn't sure he could have children, I was again happy for him. A medical examiner said it was impossible for the two bodies to have been in that wooded area for 4 months (December to April when they were found). TV-MA | Mar 1, 2020 | 53m. His father confirmed his alibi that they were doing construction work together, putting an addition on the house of friends Tom and Kathy Holschwander, at the time of Joanns disappearance. The 5-foot-9-inch-tall Patricia was physically strong, no match for 5-foot-4-inch Joann. What about Joann's best friend, who told the producer's of Wrong Man that Joann was saving up money and planning to leave Andy right after the holidays? A Lehigh County jury spared convicted double murderer Patricia Rorrer's life Monday after hearing impassioned pleas for mercy from her lawyer and family, and being assured there is no parole from . Value of cutting back on your screen time, What the Tech? I dont even know its Christmas.. It's not often there's a laundry list of clear signals, but it's fun to iterate them when there are so many. Berlingers recently directed Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, and the feature film on the infamous serial killer, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, for Netflix. Part 1. 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. Moreover, Patricia had been accused of breaking into barns, stealing horses, and underfeeding the ones she cared for charges that never stuck. In TV clips, Andrew didnt come off as anguished. Keith Morrison investigates the horrific 1994 murders of Joann Katrinak and her infant son Alex, the tangled relationships surrounding the crime, and the ongoing claims that Patricia Rorrer was wrongfully convicted. I was like OK, maybe she was tired, you know with a new baby. Her book tells the truth and the real story of this case. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lo9AIFM_vc&fbclid=IwAR28Mf5rKuUyaq1N-vBqirZM_382D69Zy42uONlU3Qf0eNEnJ1w_kYRYKIM. PATRICIA RORRER OBITUARY. Family members found Joanns tan Toyota sitting vacant in the parking lot of McCartys, a nearby bar. Witness also recalled Rorrer's mom trying to hide a gun. The farmer's remote field bordered an isolated horseback riding trail. The only eyewitness to the murder a five-year-old child told police officers that a white man did it, reads the statement. Where are the missing 4 hairs? 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. If Patricia drove it back from the murder scene after she shot Joann and then beat her to death, luminal would have lit up the interior. This was where Joann regularly parked her car and became an even more likely crime scene when the evidence of the basement break-in was discovered. Mizgerd said she acts as Patricia Rorrer's spiritual advisor and often visits her in prison. Patricia Rorrer (PA) SCI Muncy OE2170 Life Without Parole DOB: January 24,1964. No charmed life. He said that the gun had an unusual characteristic: the gun would jam after firing one shot. She needs to be freed! This had been taken just 11 days before Joann's disappearance. After her arraignment, she had to walk past a crowd of dozens of locals screeching hang her! and baby killer! Patricia clung to a Polaroid picture showing her and her own little girl. Our team of volunteers are committed to helping Patricia. Another thing never presented at trial was the fact that they found flower petals in the soles of Joann's shoes,. Sad discovery. By that time, we had both moved on and I had no romantic feelings for him. Why did the police not look into these things? God Bless each of you. And James Pfeiffer and Jim Burke have remained on her side. Patricia was arrested on June 24, 1997. . Learn more about our upcoming events, fundraisers, and more! Patricia defaulted on her mortgage and then returned to North Carolina, where she eventually moved in with a boyfriend named Brian Ward. 0. After all, one of the key pieces of evidence recovered from the crime scene and Joanns vehicle were dyed blonde hair strands. Andy also failed at least 2 lie detector tests, and before an arrest was made in the murders, moved almost all the way across the country without telling the police. Some lawyers call microscopic hair analysis junk science that today wouldnt qualify as evidence in a trial like Rorrers. Thank God she decided to investigate these crimes on her own. "When I read that petition for the first time about 30 days ago, I couldn't believe it was written by a lawyer.". After Joann Katrinak, the wife of Patricias former flame, turned up dead along with her infant son, prosecutors suspected Patricia. Lehigh Cty.) DNA from that and a cigarette butt linked Patricia to the offense. Counsel for Patricia Rorrer, 52, . Patty Rorrer is convicted of the kidnapping and murder of her ex-boyfriends wife and infant son, but Wrong Man investigators discover that the case is not so clear cut. Patricias phone bill showed no record of a call to Catasauqua that day, but police noticed she didnt make any calls at all from her house in North Carolina that day either suggesting she could have been out of state and used a pay phone to dial up the Katrinaks. Prosecutors at the time used this angry phone call as motive for Patricia to travel 500 miles to the Katrinak house, cut a phone line, break into the basement door, put them into Joann's car and march Joann and Alex to their eventual death - killing them in a field. (A good point. Culture Editor Tony Sokol cut his teeth on the wire services and also wrote and produced New York CitysVampyr Theatreand the rock operaAssassiNation: We Killed JFK. His team includes renowned civil rights attorney Ron Kuby, former prosecutor Sue-Ann Robinson, retired NCIS investigator Joe Kennedy, and Ira Todd of Detroits elite Homicide Task Force. 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. Rorrer was convicted of kidnapping and murdering Joann Katrinak and her 3-4 month old son Alex in 1994 by forcing them our of their home and driving them to a wooded area where they were shot and killed. Prosecutors also claimed DNA hair evidence found in the car matched Patricia's hair at the time (using what was considered valid DNA methods). . Theres also the matter of a woman who suddenly remembered she saw Joann with another man at a Food Mart store five days after the disappearance. The premiere episode will air following the series finale of Power. When O'Reilly started doing the research, she believed Patricia (Patty) had been . 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. I didn't see other potential suspects highlighted. 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. McIntyre said he was accused of being the mastermind of a conspiracy to frame Rorrer. Wish me luck! On Alexs diaper bag, police found strands of the same type of hair from the car. Tribute Archive Keith Morrison investigates the horrific 1994 murders of Joann Katrinak and her infant son Alex, the tangled relationships surrounding the crime, and the ongoing claims that Patricia Rorrer was wrongfully convicted. Patricia Elgin Rorrer, 86, of Lynchburg, went to be with her Lord on Thursday, February 4, 2021. Value of cutting back on your screen time, What the Tech? I have always maintained my innocence because I am innocent. We take wrongful convictions to heart. Why was the jury never told that Patricia Rorrer was under surveillance in North Carolina at the time of the crime? Patricias marriage fell apart, and she returned to Pennsylvania, where she fell in love with Andrew Andy Katrinak after meeting him at a restaurant. The media love the femme fatale., FBI lab blunder. For this week, I looked into the defenders reasoning as well as Patricias whereabouts today. But Patricia had moved from Pennsylvania years ago, and she'd started her own family in North Carolina. After watching the latest Starz episode of Wrong Man (a great investigative show), I started thinking about the Patricia Rorrer case again.. Rorrer was convicted of kidnapping and murdering Joann Katrinak and her 3-4 month old son Alex in 1994 by forcing them our of their home and driving them to a wooded area where they were shot and killed. Decades-old Lehigh Valley murder case back in national spotlight, Stormcenter - School / Business Application. Dance defense. To really understand this case, you need to sit down and read this book called Convenient Suspect written by Tammy Mal. The 26-year-old was recently married, and this would be four-month-old Alex's first Christmas. I lived with Andrew Katrinak for approximately 5 years, and we ended our relationship as friends in 1989 when I moved to North Carolina.. We would speak 2 or 3 times a year. Joann had been shot in the face and badly beaten. Mizgerd said she is convinced Rorrer is innocent. He contributed to Altvariety, Chiseler, Smashpipe, and other magazines. See Patricia Rorrer full list of movies and tv shows from their career. 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Senate vote, Reading Area Water Authority looking for leak on North Heidelberg Township line, Former Penn State Berks soccer player among dead in violent Monroe County crash, In Britain, warm hubs emerge to beat soaring energy costs, Biden expected to tighten rules on US investment in China, Paid express lanes grow more popular in once-reluctant South, Ukraine ally Kallas fights for reelection in Estonia vote, In Chicago, adapting electric buses to winters challenges, Pot vote has Oklahoma hungry to rake in green from Texas, Global race to boost electric vehicle range in cold weather, 6 Nigerian states drop suit to void presidential vote result, The implications of Walgreens' decision on abortion pills, What the Tech? There was an error processing your request. Until next time, cheers. Patricia was . The jury found Patricia guilty in just 6 hours in 1998, 4 years after the crime. - On December 15, 1994, Joann Katrinak and her three-month-old son Alex disappeared without a trace from their home in Catasauqua, Pa. Patricia Rorrer, the ex-girlfriend of Katrinak's husband, was convicted of the murders and has maintained . 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. - On December 15, 1994, Joann Katrinak and her three-month-old son Alex disappeared without a trace from their home in Catasauqua, Pa. Patricia Rorrer, the ex-girlfriend of Katrinak's husband, was . The state police dropped him as a suspect. One she was out buying feed for horses. for the sole purpose of building a stronger case against Andy, their main suspect at the time. Sad part is this could be your mother, father, kids, all love ones and friends! Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. 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. More importantly, the 3 month old baby was the size of a 6 month old, including to have a cranial diameter bigger than 99.99% of all 3 month olds. Forensic Files didnt mention it, but the hairs were actually brown at the top and the rest dyed blond, according to the show Autopsy Six: A Fatal Attraction. Watch enough true crime shows and you're bound to hear one of these gems. Patricia was wrongfully convicted and we will show you how! Strands of the accuseds dyed-blond hair at two crime scenes proved it. This was part of Rorrer's defense strategy it seemed like an unrealistic motive to commit murder. Three days later, Joann had plans to pick up her mother-in-law, Veronica Katrinak, to go Christmas shopping. FBI didn't follow up on Patricia's alibi for months (6 months?) I'm not sure to what extent it was brought up in the original trial. Its proximity to the stable she'd managed made an undeniable association to her. Police identified the pair as Joann and Alex Katrinak. We work hard to help with things that can not be accomplished in prison. Of course, Patricia denied this. Pat Rorrer received a sentence of life imprisonment for her crime. An early childhood introd Unbloody vehicle. Here is the link, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDGl9dMgHwY&fbclid=IwAR1nlAYf6AcIu_i8kN0fD_MCD3CnxJ6DG_oUgVFdqN3b2EJ4fcLO2ci3wWc, https://www.amazon.com/Convenient-Suspect-Investigation-Railroading-Innocent/dp/B0777SGHL4/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tammy%20mal&qid=1588982960&sr=8-1&fbclid=IwAR0xwJARGyijcn3BqdWAzXSX0l9C7kM-9UtBxQio4AsMv62neDLzggK1IrI. By the mid-1990s, Patricia was known for being both warm and caring as well as aggressive and loud. A photo at the time showed that Patricia had dyed her hair blonde, which matched the hair found. They also found a photo of Patricia taken 11 days before the homicide. A local murder case that made national headlines will be back in the national spotlight Sunday night. The state of the bodies suggested the victims had likely been killed the day very they were abducted. Her advocates say she wasn't even in the same state at the time of the crime. They theorized might've simply started a new life with another man, but this seemed absurd to everyone who knew Joann. His favorite rattle, shaped like a phone, lay near the crime scene. In the Katrinak case, they did new (at the time) DNA testing to match the hairs found in the car to Patricia. 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. But investigators conceded they had no solid evidence against Andrew. One on one? Tips to help protect your smartphone from thieves, Godfather of soft rock David Lindley dead aged 78 after months of illness, Prince George set to play key role in King Charles coronation but only if hes back in school ASAP after!, Idris Elba: Its MY prerogative to stop labelling myself a black actor, Stephen tWitch Boss widow Allison Holker tells their kids they will find courage, Which Outer Banks Character Are You? On Thursday, December 15, 1994, Joann Katrinak and her three-month-old son, Alex, went missing from their Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, home. ), The Wrong Man investigators Ira Todd and Joe Kennedy have some theories of their own. She is a true crime writer who believed I was 100% guilty when she decided to write about my case. Two-Part Special Premieres Sunday, March 5 at 8/7c; Features Exclusive First-Ever Interview with Inmate Patricia Rorrer (Silver Spring, Md.) 1919 EDA 2016 Appeal from the PCRA Order May 26, 2016 In the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-39-CR-0002176-1997 BEFORE: BENDER, P.J.E., BOWES AND SHOGAN, J. The police considered the possibility that Joann ran away, a theory disputed by her family. So, this pointed to a theory that Joann had either left on her own or encountered foul play within her home. McItyre said this is hearsay and the officer has refuted everything in an affidavit. Innocent nonprofit Wrongful Conviction. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. An expert will be allowed to examine evidence from the 1994 . Plus, he had only a minimal life insurance policy on Joann and he passed polygraphs, according to The FBI Files: Family Secrets. Watch Forensic Files: Season 5, Episode 3A Woman Scorned. Joann and her 4-month-old son, Alex, were abducted from their home in Catasauqua, PA, and murdered in a rural wooded area near Germansville. Her husband Andrew's mother expected Joann to arrive quickly, since they only lived a few minutes away. Highly charged case. -, Press J to jump to the feed. TV-14. Joe Kennedys talks to Michael Brinkle, Patricia Rorrer's former neighbor who reaffirms that he had sold her a .22 Jennings handgun. This state is corrupt as in every state! Illustration of the location of mitochondrial DNA in human cells. Lieutenant Christopher Coble and Sergeant Suzanne Pearson would later testify that Patricia cried and apologized to 18-month-old Nicole, telling the baby, Im sorry for doing this to you and lamenting to the officers that she would never see little Nicole again. Patricia was arrested in North Carolina in June of 1997. Died along with his mother, Joann, as a victim of his father's jealous ex-girlfriend, Patricia Rorrer. To date, the PA courts refuse to let me test this evidence which will prove my innocence. Prosecutor hiding something? Mitochondrial DNA is the small circular chromosome found inside mitochondria. Friends and family began looking for Joann and Alex. "The issues that we are presenting are not speculative at all," Neely said. He had worked as a semi-pro boxer in Las Vegas in his youth and later settled into his own construction business.
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