YORK COUNTY, Pa. – A York County man found guilty of first degree murder in the drowning of his wife is acquitted. Joseph Fitzpatrick had been sentenced to mandatory life in prison without parole. In response to a motion for acquittal Fitzpatrick’s defense attorney Chris Ferro, Judge Richard K. Renn issued a multiple page opinion and order that granted the motion writing that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence to sustain a charge of first degree murder.
In May a York County jury found Fitzpatrick guilty in the June 6, 2012 death of his 43 year old wife, Annemarie Fitzpatrick. The prosecutor said that he faked an ATV crash to make her death appear accidental. His wife had $1.7 million life insurance policy. Immediately following the guilty verdict, Ferro vowed to file an appeal.
Statement from the York County District Attorney’s Office on Judge Renn’s ruling:
“Our office appealed to the Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Renn’s opinion and order granting the defendants Motion for Judgement of Acquittal. We take great issue with Judge Renn’s ruling. We assert Judge Renn failed to appropriately consider the facts established pretrial and at trial, as well as erroneously applied the controlling legal standards and precedent. We look forward to a thorough litigation of these issues on appeal.
The defendant stood convicted of murder of the first degree based upon strong evidence that established every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Any dispassionate reading of the record reveals that the jury’s verdict was not remotely based upon suspicion or conjecture. Just as our office supports a jury’s rendering of a verdict of not guilty, we also will vigorously defend a jury’s verdict of guilty when supported by fact and law. Such was the case with this jury’s guilty verdict of first degree murder against the defendant, and we shall defend this guilty verdict to the full extent of the law.”
Fitzpatrick could be freed as early as tomorrow from SCI Camp Hill.
